Until You
by mllezeau
Summary: What happens when Ros convinces Christian to open a daycare at GEH? A certain brunette is hired as the administrator and meets her new boss at the daycare's opening. Will sparks fly? How far with Christian go to woo a very reluctant Anastasia Steele?
1. Chapter 1

"Is there any reason why you're sharing this with me, Ros? I thought I told you to just take care of it", I said. She's been riding me all damn month about the grand opening of the onsite day care here at GEH. Ever since Ros and Gwen adopted their son, Henry, she's been hounding me with the details of it all.

Since she's been back to work from maternity leave, all she's done is bitch and moan about how much she's missing out on Henry's development. Now with Gwen going back to work, Ros is adamant that Henry needs to be in close proximity of her. When she brought up the idea of a daycare, I told her she was crazy and that she makes enough money to hire the best of nannies. Why would she want to have Henry be around a bunch of other babies? Isn't that ripe with germs? Just the thought made me want to run out and get some Germx. Ros seems to think that although a nanny sounds good, she wants Henry to be around other children. I think she mentioned some nonsense about making sure he develops social skills early on.

Then Ros totally lost her damn mind and told me that she was considering cutting back or possible taking an indefinite leave of absence because she is missing Henry too much. She said reminded me that she's been asking me about a daycare for years, and how it will actually bring up productivity, employee morale and will eliminate turnover. I snorted at that. GEH has very little turnover and is rated at one of the best places to work in the country. I'm no fool, however. Ros is my right hand woman and I'd be a idiot to let her go. While I'm the better negotiator, she's great at sniffing out companies that are ripe for a takeover. She is indispensable and if a daycare will keep her close, a daycare she shall have.

"I have taken care of everything but I need to remind you that we are having a party at the daycare Friday night to celebrate the opening on the following Monday", Ros says.

"You're already told me about a million times. I will be there. Are we done with this conversation?"

"No, we're not done. The new director will be there and you can get to meet her. Try not to scare her away. It was hard finding the perfect fit. Thankfully Elliot recommended her." I roll my eyes at that. How the hell does Elliot know someone qualified to run a daycare? He hangs around with construction workers all day. This better not be some woman he's screwing. Maybe I would know the how he knows her if he would have a conversation with me that was longer than two minutes.

"How the hell does Elliot know her", I ask.

"I think he's dating her roommate."

I didn't even know he was dating anyone serious enough to know their roommate. His relationships usually max out at 2 weeks.

She hangs up and I go back and stare out of the window and down at the people below. It's just after six so most people have already made their way home to their lives. I sigh, walk around to my desk and pour myself a drink out of my secret stash. The A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16-year-old bourbon burns but it does wonders to take some of the tension away.

I wonder what it would be like to have someone to run home to every night. Someone to talk about your day or to have dinner with. The most I can expect is for Gail to leave dinner in the microwave for me every night.

I send Taylor a text and tell him I'll be ready to leave in 5 minutes.

The apartment is deathly quiet when I step off the elevator and into the penthouse. Gail has already gone to her apartment and it's just me here. I eat dinner alone, walk around the empty apartment aimlessly.

I sit at the piano bench and think about my life lately. How things have changed over the past 6 months. It was on the night of my 28th birthday that everything changed.

My mother, Grace, wanted to have a family dinner, and of course she invited Elena. The dinner was just the immediate family and Elena. Mom prepared my favorite meal of pot roast, roasted potatoes, pasta salad, and chocolate cake for dessert.

As usual, I was annoyed that night because I really didn't want Elena to be there, but seeing as though she was included in most Gray events, I couldn't think of a way of excluding her without raising eyebrows.

After dessert, Elena cornered me outside of the family room where everyone was having coffee. She had been trying to convince me to interview some potential new submissives and I was reluctant to do so. I explained that I've been working with John Flynn, my therapist and was going to take a break from the lifestyle.

"Look, Elena, this isn't the time to have this discussion. This is my parent's home, but since you insist, I'm taking a break from the lifestyle. I'm bored with it at the moment and have no interest in meeting anyone new. Drop it now. This is not the fucking time. ", I told her.

She looked at me and laughed. "You seriously think you can just take a break from being a Dominant. A dominant is who you are, and you can't take a break from yourself. I thought I trained you better than that. Listen, if you don't want a sub, I'll come over and fuck your brains out just like I did for all of those years."

That's when all hell broke loose. My mother overheard and confronted us. I figured now was the time to come clean and decided to tell my family everything. I instructed Taylor to stay in the living room and prevent Elena from leaving until we were done talking. I told my entire family that Elena seduced me when I was 15 and introduced me to BDSM. I told them about our affair, if you can call it that, lasted for 6 years. I explained the lifestyle as best as I could and told them that I've been with other women since then.

After I finished speaking, everyone was silent. Then my mother turned her attention on Elena, who was attempting to walk around Taylor. Now that was funny because Taylor is 6 feet 5, and Elena is just a little over 5 feet. Before I could even register what happened, Grace ran to Elena, who's back was turned, grabbed her by her hair and turned her around. Graced then punched her in the face, knocking her to her knees. While Elena was trying to get up, I see my demure mother, push her to the ground, jump on top of her and proceed to punch her two more times in the face, all the while calling her names I never knew my mother knew.

We were all so stunned that nobody moved for a good minute. Elena was clearly outmatched and could not push my mother off her. The best she could do was shield her face with her hands.

"I'm going to kill you, you fucking bitch", Grace snarls and proceeded to put both hands around Elena's neck. Once she started to squeeze, Taylor finally went to pull my mother off. Elliot and I finally run over and it took the three of us to pull Grace away. Once we had her, Taylor went to help Elena up. She had a bloody lip and her eye and cheek were already starting to swell.

"How could you, Elena?", this from Carrick. "We invited you into our home, befriended you and you betray us by seducing our minor son? What kind of person does that? We trusted you with his issues and you used that to prey on him. There's a special place in hell for a person like you. You have no soul, you whore. You're lucky we are only finding out about this now or I'd make sure you would spend the rest of your days in a jail cell. Get the hell out of my house."

Elena is frantic at this point. "I only ever meant to help him, Grace. You came to me and asked me for help. Things changed when we started. His grades improved. He stopped getting into trouble. He got into Harvard, for heaven's sake. I only wanted to help him. You've got to understand that I've done him a lot of good", she screams. Tears are now streaming down her face.

Grace goes to lunge after her again but Elliot and I hold her back.

"The only way you could do that was to fuck a minor, you sick twisted bitch. Get the hell out before I take a butcher knife to your face."

"You've got to listen, before me he was…", before Elena could finish, Mia slaps her across the face, making her stumble back 2 steps.

"My parents told you to leave!", this from Mia.

"Taylor, please see Elena to her car. We are done here, Elena. I'm signing over the salons to you first thing Monday. Do not contact me or any member of my family. If you do, we'll be forced to get a restraining order. Your days of being in our lives are over."

"Christian, please don't do this. We can figure this out.".

"Desperation doesn't look good on you, Elena. Now go", I tell her.

Taylor grabs her by the elbow and forces her out.

What a horrible night that was. The four of us talked for hours about my life. The worst part of this all was Elliot's reaction. He was very quiet the entire night and just mainly listened. He avoided me for about a month after that night. Even now, he will hardly look at me. I thought he'd high five me and want to know the crass details, but he doesn't. He has never mentioned it again. Our relationship right now is non-existent. Mom, dad and Mia did the most talking.

Mom and dad even apologized for letting her into my life. I was shocked that they actually blamed themselves when I was just a horny kid with touch issues who was offered a way to get a sexual release.

I ended up spending the night and Flynn came over the next day. Since then, my parents and Mia have started seeing their own therapist to help them deal with their guilt. I'm still seeing Flynn and Elliott still avoids me like the plague.

As horrible as that night was, I will admit that I'm glad everything is out in the open and that Elena is out of my life. As promised, I gifted the salons to Elena and voided our partnership. Carrick was upset with me and wanted me to have her buy me out, but I just wanted out. She was like a cancer and I wanted to be free and clear of her. I haven't seen or talked to her since that night.

From what I heard, her business is not doing too well. Let's just say when Grace Grey has a vendetta against you, you're in some deep shit. When Seattle society's finest and the mother of the Christian Grey decides to blackball you, other socialites will follow. Last I heard, Elena was offering discounted coupons to get people in the salon.

I don't have time to worry about her. I have my therapy and I'm trying to get closer to my family. I want to focus on me.

Ana

"Ana, what time should I be there? Elliot wants to know when to pick me up", Kate asks.

"The party starts at 6, so you can come any time after that", I tell her. "I can't believe the daycare is opening on Monday already. I'm glad Elliot told me about it and got me that interview with Ros."

Thank goodness for Elliott! Kate and I graduated from WSU one year ago and the career in publishing that I wanted didn't work out like I had planned. I got a job at Seattle Independent Publishing, or SIP, right out of college, but I soon realized that Jack Hyde, the editor who had hired me, was a creep. About 3 months after I was hired, several of his previous assistants filed a class action sexual harassment suit against the company.

SIP was forced to pay millions of dollars. I don't know the particulars about the allegations, but Hyde was fired and the company was forced to lay off about 150 employees because they took such a big financial loss. I was one of the people who was laid off. Luckily, I pay very little rent to Kate's parents on the condo they bought for her after graduation. I'm frugal, so I had a few thousand dollars saved and worked part time at Starbucks while I looked for another job.

One night I overheard Elliot telling Kate that he was the contractor for the new daycare center at GEH, I mentioned that I doubled majored in English Lit and Education and asked about a job. He contacted Ros Bailey and the rest, as they say, is history.

Ros called the day after the interview to offer me the job as the director for Little Tots Daycare. I was surprised because I interviewed for the assistant's job, but Ros told me she liked me and liked my vision. The job comes with great benefits and a great salary so I can't complain. I still love books, and plan to write a novel. My goal is to work a 9 to 5 and write in my spare time.

"How late do you think it will be? Don't forget that afterwards we can go to Fifty's for a drink. Elliott mentioned inviting one of his friends", Kate says as she looks at me and wiggles her eyebrows. She's been trying to fix me up for the longest time.

I never dated much in college and only had one boyfriend my senior year in high school. I was focusing on my education and didn't want to be distracted by romance like my mother.

"Sounds good to me. I'm single and ready to mingle", I tell her and she laughs.

"Do you know anything about this guy?", I ask her.

"Of course. You don't think I would let you be introduced to someone I haven't vetted, would you? His name is Sam and he's an engineer for Grey Construction. He went to Oregon State on a scholarship, He's tall and very handsome. I can't wait for you to see him", Kate says excitedly.

After Kate leaves for work, I spend the day cleaning the apartment and doing laundry, and just thinking about the last year. This new job will be a new chapter for me. I'm starting a new job and hopefully great things will happen. I laugh to myself as I think that. Ray, my stepfather, always said that I had my heads in the clouds daydreaming. I wish he could be here for the grand opening, but hates coming to the city.

Growing up, it was just me and him for the most part. Mom was around but Ray is the one who raised me. Carla is my mother but wasn't much of a parent when I was a kid. When I was thirteen she divorced Ray and married Stephen. Stephen came from a wealthy family and we moved to Raleigh, NC so he could help his dad run their law firm.

I missed Ray instantly and begged my mother to let me stay in Montesano. She refused and said I was her daughter and should go with her. She told me it would be a fresh start and that I would love Raleigh. I was so angry with her for taking me away from the only father I have ever known that I refused to speak with her for the first week we were there.

At first, things were ok. Stephen had a big, beautiful house and he introduced us to his family, who all seemed nice at first. I got acclimated to my new school, new way of life and new people. My mom and I were speaking again and things were ok. She allowed me to talk to Ray on the phone whenever I wanted and would fly me out there for long weekends. Though I didn't love my new living situation, I tried to make the best of it. I figured I only had 6 years until I was 18 and could move back to Washington.

Over the next year, I started to notice that my mother wasn't has happy as she was when we first arrived. She and Stephen were bickering occasionally. One night, after coming back from a party thrown the by law firm, I overheard them fighting in the kitchen. I caught the tail end of the conversation but what I heard did not sound good.

"I took you from that hick town and away from that hillbilly you were married to. You should be grateful that you're living here in a 6000 foot square house. Who are you to question me?", Stephen says to my mother.

"I'm your wife! I have the right to ask you about some woman who was hanging on your arm all damn night, Stephen! ", this from my mother.

"You don't get to ask me a god damn thing! Not when I support you and your brat. I practically took you out of the trailer park. You should be grateful", he snaps back at her.

"I have the right to want to know who that woman was. Who was she? "

"You want to know", Stephen asks. "Her name is Marla Smith. She's the daughter of one of my parents' friends and she's the one they wanted me to end up with. I chose you, though. I decision I question daily. I didn't invite her, my mother did."

"Your mother invited the woman they tried to fix you up with?", Carla asks in disbelief.

"Yes, she did. Do you think she wanted me to end up with someone like you? Someone with your baggage? A child and an ex husband? No! She wanted me with someone with breeding, an education and manners. You are white trash!", he says cruelly. He tosses back a drink and starts to walk away. I hide in the dark hallway off the side of the kitchen.

Carla angrily starts to follow him. Carla was a lot of things, but she was no shrinking violet and would not walk away from a fight.

"What trash", she says incredulously. "How dare you? You chased after me and asked me to marry you, not the other way around. You couldn't keep your hands off me, remember. I wasn't trashy when you were chasing after me."

"And you were happy to fuck behind your stupid husband's ass."

"You leave Ray out of this. I just never loved him, but I love you. I left him because I wanted to be with you."

"You saw dollar signs and you couldn't resist. Thank goodness I was smart enough to make you sign a pre-nup, Women like you are all the same." This was the last thing he said that night before he left the house.

As bad as I felt for my mom for being treated that way, I was angry at her because now I knew she cheated on Ray. I didn't confront her right away, but I never quite looked at her the same after that.

Things continued like that for the next year. Stephen would throw his money in her face and remind her how she's nothing, and was doing her a favor for taking care of me.

Marla never went away, either. Mrs. Morton would make it a point to invite her to every function. She make it no secret that she didn't want my mother with her son.

Things came to a head one night when Stephen turned his verbal abuse towards me. I was a bit of a clumsy kid and one night I was in his library doing a book report. As I was leaving the room, I tripped and knocked a vase on the ground, breaking it. It turns out that vase was a family heirloom and Stephen was not happy. Stephen must have heard the noise because he came rushing into the library, and seeing the damage.

"You stupid, clumsy little bitch! That vase was worth more than your mother has ever earned in her life." He came up to me, grabbed me by my arm and physically pushed me out of the room. I lost my balance and hit the wall. Thankfully nothing broke that time.

I ran to my room crying and my mother soon followed. She held me and told me that everything would be ok. Stephen left for a business trip the next morning. My mother called Ray and he bought me a plane ticket back to Washington. My mother sent me back to him and shipped the rest of my things. As much of a disruption it was to change schools in the middle of the school year, I was so happy to be back home.

My mother stayed married to Stephen for another 2 years. She finally left him and came back to Montesano after she learned he got Marla pregnant. I think after my mother left he married her. Mom doesn't like to talk about it, but she intimated that Stephen married her to make his parents angry. She was different when she came back. She was depressed and withdrawn, not the outgoing person she used to be.

I shake my head at those memories. I never like to think about my time in NC or that first year when mom came back. I was happy she was able to get her job back as a secretary at the police station. She even managed to form a friendship with Ray again. I never told her I heard about the cheating. Maybe one day, but not now.

Before I know it, it's 5 o'clock and I need to get ready for the party. I find a teal, cold shoulder shift dress that reach my knees. At 5'2'' I grab some 4 inch black, open toe heals. I look in the mirror and look at my reflection. Boring brown hair, down in waves, blue eyes and some freckles across my nose. Boring! I think that maybe I should put on a pant suit, but there isn't much time to change. It's a party for a daycare, I don't want to look too provocative. I text Kate a picture of the outfit and she assures me it's sexy while still conservative. I'll have to take her word for it since I have to be there in 15 minutes.

I'm excited about tonight for the first time in a long time. New job and maybe a new man. Anything can happen, I think as I walk towards my Wanda.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the follows, favorites and reviews. I was blown away by the response of this story. This started as just a idea, but with the encouragement of some of the ladies on FF, I was convinced to try my hand at writing. I hope you enjoy chapter two.**

 **CHRISTIAN**

"God damn it, Ros! How many fucking times do I have to tell you that I'll be there? Check your damn Rolex because it's nowhere near 6 o'clock," I snap at her. She's been calling me all fucking week about this damn opening. I don't understand why it's important that I attend this shit. She was over the entire project, she hired Grey Construction, she hired the daycare staff so what the fuck does she need me for? She's lucky she's indispensable or I would really tell her where to go.

"You don't scare me, Christian, so you can just check your tone at the door. I'm reminding you again because you've shown no interest in this thing. This is a very big deal to me. It's important that your ass show up. Now put a fucking smile on your face and get your ass down there in an hour. After today, you can stay away. We don't want you scaring the children with that permanent scowl that's always on your face. Maybe you should get laid," she says right before she hangs up on me. How fucking rude!

The nerve of that woman. I'll be at the damn opening but I'm not taking any more of her calls today. I spend the next hour reading and responding to emails. There's one from Mia telling me that the entire family will be there and that Elliot has invited her to Fifty's after the party and wanted to know if I was coming.

Like Elliot invited me. I don't know what's gotten into him but he won't say more than 5 words to me at a time. For the past six months, he's avoided me. He used to constantly want to hang out, I'd blow off most times, but now he won't talk to me. He's cordial. He's cold. He's distant. Maybe he's just giving me a taste of my own medicine, but it sucks and I'm hurt. Maybe I should invite myself to Fifty's and force him to interact with me. Oh, fuck! I have no idea how to navigate these things. The last thing I want is to go to a bar on a Friday night and deal with the after-work crowd. A bunch of cry-babies. Flynn said to give him time and space but I want my brother to like me again. It sounds hypocritical considering how aloof I've always been, but I need him now.

Before I know it it's time to head down to the daycare. The daycare is for GEH employees only and highly subsidized by the company. It's located on the first floor, adjacent to the newly constructed playground.

I rub the kinks out of my neck, get up and grab my jacket. I'll go down there, socialize for an hour and feel Elliot's mood about me joining him, Mia and I assume his girlfriend at Fifty's. If he's being distant, I'll leave him alone. It's Friday and I'm tired. Not that I can get a decent night's sleep. Despite all the progress I've made, the nightmares about the pimp's abuse continues. No amount of many can fix that, I guess. I exit my office and press the down elevator button. Taylor knows where I'll be so I'm sure he'll be there lurking.

"Hold the elevator," I hear Ros say. She steps in and I purposely scowl at her.

"Oh, that's a nice face," she starts.

I roll my eyes.

"Don't start. I'm going to attend this thing, I'll smile and then I'll go home. Don't get your panties in a bunch. Relax and don't give me any shit. I'm not in the mood," I tell her.

"Like you're ever in the mood. I've never met someone who needs to get laid more than you. Maybe if you didn't scowl so much you can get in someone's panties," she retorts.

Before I can respond, we're on the first floor. We exit the elevator and make a left towards the daycare. I'm just going to ignore her ass until Monday. Fuck her! I can get into all the panties I want. I'm Christian Fucking Grey, master of the damn universe. But being master of the universe comes with a big huge dose of loneliness. Having money is great, but being rich and kind of famous can be hellish. People don't take the time to get to know the real you. They are interested in your money or what your money and connections can do for them. It's hard to know who to trust.

Mom tried to fix me up with a doctor at the hospital without telling either one of us, and that didn't go too well. For one, she was a blonde. Two, and this is kind of important, she was a lesbian. She thought mom was inviting her over for dinner as one colleague to another, not to fix her up with her pathetic son. Mom finally got the message when she told us about her ex-girlfriend. After that, I made Grace promise not to try to set me up again. She said she wouldn't make any promises.

I'm one pathetic master of the universe who needs his mommy to get him a date.

We step into the main room of the daycare. To the right, there's the front desk, where parents will check their kids in. Behind the front desk is the main office, where the administrator will be. I see Taylor sitting behind the desk in the office, monitoring the cameras. There are decorations and balloons everywhere. Some of the employees who signed their kids up are mingling and checking the place out. The catering company is just finishing up and a waiter is passing around champagne and hor d'oeuvres of shrimp, crab puffs and some sort of chicken. I guess Ros went all out. I grab a glass of champagne. I'm going to need a lot more than champagne to get through this evening. I see Ros talking to some petite brunette.

I can only see her from behind but she has dark brown, wavy hair. Her hair is quite long and reaches her mid back. She's small, but her legs look like they go on forever. She's wearing a fitted dress and stilettos. Her ass looks round and toned, just the right size for her body type. I'm thunderstruck and I haven't even seen her face. With my luck, she probably looks like Shrek. I hope she looks like Shrek. At that moment, Ros points to me and the brunette turns around.

I almost drop my champagne glass when I see her face. There she was before me, and she was no Shrek. She is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I'm a few feet away but her skin is flawless, with minimal makeup. At least I think it's minimal from where I'm standing. This gravitational pull pulls me towards them. I make it across the room in no time.

"Christian, I'd like to introduce you to the administrator. This is Anastasia Steele. Anastasia, this is the owner of GEH, and our boss, Christian Grey," Ros says.

I'm speechless right then. My mouth goes dry and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. My heart starts beating so fast I think Ros and the delectable Ms. Steele can hear it.

Get a hold of yourself, Grey, I tell myself. I use this opportunity to study Ms. Steele. I was right, her skin is flawless and she has no only lip gloss and mascara. Not that she needs any of that. I look at her eyes and they are the clearest, palest blue. I become lost in them. I think I hear myself whimper. I think Ros hears it too because she shoots me this what the fuck is wrong with you look. She looks away and starts talking. I see Ros' mouth moving but I don't know what she's saying.

"I was telling Anastasia that we are so excited to have her and the daycare here. I can't wait for Henry's first day on Monday," I think I hear Ros yammer.

I can't speak. I want to say something. Something somewhat intelligent but I can't. I can't move either. My feet are stuck to the floor. I feel like a complete moron. Get yourself together, Grey!

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Grey. Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity. I look forward to working here and interacting with the kids, and the parents here at GEH," I hear the sweetest voice. Thank god she spoke first because my brain still hasn't caught up to my mouth. I know this is going to sound corny and cliché, but it's like the heavens opened and the angels start singing.

Yeah right, Grey. Like the angels would come out for your sick, perverted ass. Your own brother won't give you the time of day. What makes you think this angel will? Speak, god damn it!

I get my shit together and manage to form a sentence.

"It's a pleasure to have you, Ms. Steele," I say. I lick my lips involuntarily. How I wish I could have you. God, those tits!

"Please call me, Ana,".

She's blushing. She has the most beautiful shade of pink across her cheeks. Are those freckles across the bridge of her nose? They are. How did this angel find her way here to me?

"Ana, welcome," that's all I can manage to say.

"Ana and Christian, I'm going to introduce the rest of the staff." Ros walks away and it's just me and Ana.

I'm standing there like an idiot as she grabs a glass of champagne. Before I can think of anything to say, some blonde walks in and hugs Ana. I see Elliot is right behind her.

"Ana, this place looks great," the blonde says.

"Hey, Banana. Congrats on the new job. I hear the owner's a real asshole, so watch out," Elliot deadpans. He doesn't even look at me as he says it.

I'm about to respond when mom, dad and Mia walk in.

"Oh, sweetheart! This place looks wonderful. I'm so glad you invited all of us here tonight." Grace says to me. She practically has tears in her eyes. Every time she sees me now her eyes get misty.

Dad shakes my hand and Mia hugs me. She lingers a bit longer than she did before the whole Elena thing.

I don't understand why they even care about this. It's just a daycare in the building. What's the big fucking deal? Ever since the Elena thing came out the entire family has been sticking to me like glue. Mom arranges family dinners every Sunday and makes it mandatory for the entire family. When I pretended to be sick a few weeks ago, she threatened to bring the entire meal and the family to Escala.

Dad has lunch with me at least once per week. Mia emails and texts me all damn day. It's like they must keep eyes on me always. Elliot is the only one I never hear from. I need to talk to him soon because I can't take his attitude for another second.

"Ladies and gentleman," Ros begins. "I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone for coming here tonight. We here are GEH are very proud and excited to open Little Tots. This has been a project that is near and dear to my heart. This is something that I've wanted to do for a long time, but when Gwen and I adopted Henry, it became the perfect time. I'd like to thank the boss, Christian Grey, for giving the green light on this project and for trusting me with it. Our goal here at GEH has always been to foster a work/life balance, and I think that we will exceed that goal with the addition of Little Tots. Now, I'd like to introduce the staff and the new addition to the GEH family."

Ros goes no to introduce the 15 teachers, the assistant administrator, Hannah something or other, and the angelic Ms. Steele. I learn that Ms. Steele has a degree in English Lit and Education, worked in publishing for about 9 months and is now working here. During this whole time, I keep sneaking glances at her. She's standing there, looking a bit nervous, with that blush across her face. How can one person be so fucking adorable?

I shake my head. I can't believe I just used the word adorable to describe someone. Christian Grey doesn't use that word. Christian Grey needs to find his balls. I used to be a dominant for god's sakes! I'm not going to lose my nuts to a five-foot two-inch little slip of a woman. Besides, she doesn't even know I'm alive. I haven't stopped watching her and she hasn't looked my way once since Ros first introduced us.

I go over and welcome all the staff shake everyone's hand. I could give a flying fuck about the staff, I just want to touch Ms. Steele's hand, or any other part of her body. I'll settle for hand now, though. Her hand is so small, so warm. There's this twinge of electricity that courses through me. I feel goosebumps all over my body. I look at her and our eyes meet. The world stops. She looks away and withdraws her hand from mine. I never want to let go of her hand. I have no choice but to move on to the next daycare employee.

The blonde, Elliot and Mia walk up to my angel. Elliot introduces Mia to Ana. Mia hugs Ana and hugs the blonde. By that time, I'm done shaking hands and I walk back to the group. I stand there awkwardly waiting for someone to introduce me to the blonde. I could give a shit about her, but the longer I stay here, the longer I can stay near Ana. I plaster on a fake smile and wait. Mom and dad approaches us.

Elliot finally introduces me but I think he only does it because he must introduce mom and dad too. Of course, he must also introduce his loser brother who's just standing there looking awkward.

"Kate, this is my brother Christian, my parents, Grace and Carrick Grey. Christian, mom, dad, this is my girlfriend, Kate Kavanaugh. This is Ana Steele, Kate's roommate and the new director here."

Mom hugs Kate and dad shakes her hand. I shake her hand as well.

"It's nice to meet all of you. Elliot talks about you so much," Kate says.

Mom and Carrick chat with Kate and Ana for a minute. I guess Kate is the daughter or the media mogul, Eamon Kavanaugh. Our companies have done business together, though we've never met.

I decide to ingratiate myself to Kate as a way to get Elliot to loosen up and interact with me. If he acts like I'm normal, my angel would have to no choice but to think I'm normal too.

"It's nice to meet you, Kate. I'm glad you can make it." Elliot eyes me, probably wondering what I'm up to.

"Ana is my best friend and I wouldn't miss this for the world." I see Ana smile shyly and look away from me. I wish she'd look at me instead of looking elsewhere.

"Ana, "Elliot says, "How about a tour of this place?"

Before I can invite myself on the tour, Ros comes up to me and. I have no choice but to watch Kate, Elliot and Ana, Mia, mom and dad walk away. I stand there as they walk down the hallway and out of my line of vision. My eyes were glued to Ana's sweet, round ass as she walked. I finally turn towards Ros.

"What, Ros? I was in the middle of a conversation." I say.

"I'm surprised you stayed this long. I thought you'd come, scowl, shake a few hands, scowl some more and leave." She says.

"Well my family is here and I'm interested in meeting the new staff," I lie

She looks at me skeptically.

"When I to told you to get laid, I didn't mean her. I've been watching you," she says and walks away before I can respond.

God damn it! So much for being inconspicuous.

ANA

Holy fuck, that man is hot. I've never seen someone so sexy in all my life. The perfectly fitted tailor made suit, the crazy, sexy, messy head of hair. I think that's what Kate would describe as just fucked hair. Not that I would know or have even been paying attention to such things. Getting an education and becoming self-sufficient has always been the most important thing to me. Self-reliance, total independence is freedom. Besides, why would someone like him be interested in someone like me? A nobody from Montesano, Washington. The daughter of a carpenter and receptionist. It's not that I'm ashamed of my upbringing. On the contrary. I'm quite proud of my life, where I come from and what I've done to get to where I am. It's just that he runs an empire. His parents are rich. He probably knows senators or even the president, and I'm just Ana, a rank and file employee in a billion-dollar conglomerate.

Fine with me. My goal has always been to take care of myself. It took my mother until she was 40 years old to learn that she shouldn't depend on a man to take care of her completely. Sure, relationships are supposed to be give and take, but I've seen firsthand how that's not always how things work. Stephen thought being the bread winner, being born with a silver spoon in his mouth gave him the right to humiliate others.

I shake my head. The last thing I want to do is think about my mother and Stephen.

I finish giving Elliot and Kate a tour and we finalize our plans for the evening. I learn that Mia will be coming with us, and Ethan might meet join us later. I instantly like Mia. She's high energy and fun.

The party starts to wind down. I grab another glass of champagne. As I take a swallow, I see Mr. Grey looking at me from the corner of my eye. I immediately look away, take another sip, pretend to wave at someone, and look at Mr. Grey again. As I was pretending to wave, I notice Mrs. Grey looking at me. She smiles, waves back and winks. I notice her whisper something in her husband's ear and he looks from me to Christian. I wonder what that's about.

I turn back to see if the sexiest man I've ever seen is still looking at me, and he is. Our eyes meet this time. I hold the stare for a few seconds. I look down after he smiles at me.

I look up again and he's walking towards me. He's looking right at me and I'm trying my hardest for our eyes not to meet. He's walking towards me like he's the predator and I'm the prey. In your dreams, Grey. Ana Steele is no one's prey.

I should run over to where Kate, Elliot and Mia are but my feet can't move. I'm in a trance as he walks towards me.

"Ms. Steele," he beings.

"Ana."

"Ana," he repeats. God damn, he's fine. "I wanted to let you know how delighted I am with the new venture."

New venture? Who talks like that? Just as I'm about to respond, Elliot, Kate and Mia walk over.

"I'm happy to be a part of this as well," I manage to say.

"Ana, you think you'll be ready to go in about half an hour?" Kate asks.

"Sure," Ana says.

"Sam says he'll meet up across the Street. Mia, are you still coming?" This from Elliot.

"Yeah, I invited Christian, too. Are you still coming, big brother?"

Elliott interjects before Christian can say anything.

"Nah. He's too busy, right bro?" Elliot says. If I'm not mistaken, I sense a bit of hostility and sarcasm. I look at Kate and she shrugs her shoulders.

"Leave him alone, Elliot," Mia says.

"As a matter of fact, I would love to come," Christian says quickly. "Where are we going?"

"Are you sure? Don't you have an empire to run? Secrets to keep?" Elliot asks.

Mia is looking a bit uncomfortable and gives Elliot a dirty look.

"Let's all meet there in 30 minutes. Christian, remember I emailed you about us going to Fifty's after the party?"

"I'll be there." Christian says this while looking at me. I practically lose my balance because my knees just nearly buckled. Get yourself together, Steele! A man like that could never really be interested in you beyond something physical. Besides, Elliot is introducing me to someone very soon.

"If you all will excuse me, I have to go back up to my office and make a very important phone call. I look forward to seeing you all very soon." Christian looks directly at me before he walks away. I blush profusely. I see him go tell his parents and Ros good bye.

"Is your brother always so formal?" Kate asks.

"Yeah, he really should take the stick out of his ass," replies Elliot.

"El, shut up. Stop being an asshole. He's been dealing with a lot of shit so cut him some slack," Mia says.

I wonder what he's had to deal with? Must be some business deal or something rich people deal with. Did Kate tell me he was worth billions? Oh, well.

"Guys, let me go say goodbye to Ros and some of the people here so we can go. Better yet, go get us a table and I'll meet you there," I tell them. They go say goodbye to The Grey's parents first, and then head out the door. I see Kate nodding and responding to something Grace says. Kate hugs her one final time before they leave.

I walk over to Ros and wait for her to finish her conversation with Grace and Carrick Grey.

"Ros, I'm so excited about Monday. This launch party was such a great idea. I can't wait to make this place a success," I say. I think that sounds professional. Grace and Carrick are studying me the entire time. Grace smiles and grabs my hand.

"Ana, it was so nice meeting you. Please don't be a stranger. I've invited Kate over to Sunday dinner this weekend. You have an open invitation, dear. Please stop by with Kate and Elliot if you're free."

"That's very kind of you, Mrs. Grey. If I'm free, I will most definitely tag along," I lie. I have no intentions of going to the Grey family dinner. I work for their son and that would be so awkward.

Mr. Grey smiles and says he hopes to see me soon. He winks and turns back to his wife. What the hell was that about?

I say my final good bye to Ros and a few of the remaining attendees.

I go into the bathroom and freshen up my makeup and hair.

It's time to go meet Sam! I text Kate that I'm on my way.

As I step out into the lobby to walk towards the front door, I hear the elevator ding. My heart stops when I see Mr. Grey step out of the elevator. He changed from his suit into khakis and a dark blue polo shirt. Somebody works out. I can see the taunt muscles across his shirt. And he smells so good. Holy fuck, this man is sexy!

He walks towards me and this giant with a buzz cut walks with him. Buzz cut stops when Mr. Grey stops. That's odd. Maybe this is a friend that he's invited.

"Ana, are you heading out? So, am I? Let's walk together," he says. Before I can answer, he offers me his arm. I take the arm and we step out together. I must say, it feels nice. What I wouldn't give to put my arm around his waist. Don't get used to this, Steele. He's just being polite.

Author's note:

 **In the next chapter, Christian and Elliot make a bit of scene. Don't worry, the friction between the brothers won't last for too long. I hope you guys enjoyed chapter 2. This won't be a very long story. I'm hoping I can make it 8 to 10 chapter. I have so much respect and appreciation for the authors who can write a story with 50 plus chapter. Kudos!**


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is chapter 3. I hope you guys enjoy. Please don't be too mad at Elliot. He's only human.**

CHRISTIAN

I run back to my office and decide to change out of my suit. I find a pair of khakis and a dark blue polo and put that on. I put on some expensive ass cologne Ros got me last Christmas.

I instruct Taylor to come along but not to act as my body guard. I want Ana to think of me as a normal guy. Someone she can have some drinks with, talk to and get to know. I'm not sure how I'm going to do all of that since she won't even make eye contact with me for more than 2 seconds.

Taylor and I step in the elevator and head down to the lobby. There is a god because when the elevator doors open, Ana is in the lobby, walking towards the front door. I call out to her and suggest we walk together. To my great delight, she takes the arm I offer.

Taylor is behind following us. I see Ana look back at him curiously but thankfully she doesn't ask who he is. I'm not ready to explain the bodyguard yet, so I'm grateful.

The electrical surge is back and so are the goosebumps. We are both quiet as we cross the street. I'm once again tongue tied. Just as we are about to step on the sidewalk, Ana trips. I reach out to catch her and pull her close, to keep her upright. She grabs my forearms and looks up at me in shock. We both stand there, lost in each other's eyes. The world stops for I don't know how long while we share looks. Her eyes are so blue with little flecks of brown. Now I know why Shakespeare said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. At that moment I can see a future in her eyes. I can see us on The Grace, in the glider, in the back yard of a huge house on the sound chasing after a nameless, faceless little figure.

I grab on to both her hands while still looking into her eyes.

"Are you ok, Ana? Are you hurt?" I ask.

"Yes," she says so low I barely hear her. I wonder if she can feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"Yes, you're hurt?"

"Uh, yes, I'm fine," she says. She breaks eye contact then and takes her hands from mine. I miss her touch immediately. How the hell did this happen? I just met this woman about 2 hours ago and her I am ready to give up my Friday night to hang with her and others. Well it's not like I have any other plans for tonight, or any other Friday night. Even before Elenagate happened, I hadn't had a submissive in months. I had nothing to do on a Friday night other than catch up on work.

"I'm notorious for being clumsy," she says and giggles. I miss a step at the sound of her giggle. I get control of myself and open the door for her.

Prior to coming over here, I had my secretary, Andrea, call and request a private room. Since it's Friday, it would be damn near impossible to get a private room on such short notice, but this is one of the perks to being Christian Grey. My name and black Ammex can get me whatever I want.

She walks through and I have no choice but to hold the door for Taylor as well. I give him a dirty look and tell him to find a table far enough away. He better try his hardest to make his 6 foot 5 frame be as inconspicuous as possible.

The hostess takes me to the private room and Tayler gets a table right outside the door.

I see Elliot, Kate, Mia, and some dark-haired guy with glasses. He looks like he belongs on a Gap ad. I immediately don't like him. I get closer to Ana in order to send some sort of message to him.

"Hey, guys," Elliot says.

"Ana, this is Sam Hardy, the guy I've been tell you about. He's one of the engineers at Grey Construction. Sam, this is Ana, my friend and Kate's BFF." Elliot says jovially.

He looks my way.

"Oh, and this is my brother, Christian," he says with zero enthusiasm. That's all I get? Whatever. I'll make sure this Sam Hardy knows who the fuck I am soon enough. And what does he mean that this is the guy that he's told Ana about? Is this some kind of set up? It's a good thing I'm here.

"Hi, Sam. It's nice to meet you," Ana says as she reaches across the table to shake his hand. While she's reaching across the table, the back of her dress hikes up and I see the back of her thighs. They look so smooth and pale, and ready for my touch. What I wouldn't give to run my fingers up and down those thighs. Jesus, to have those legs wrapped around.

When I look up, I see Elliot looking at me. He shakes his head in disbelief and looks away.

"Come sit over here, Ana," Mia says. Over here is between Mia and Sam. Fuck! I push my way in next to Sam.

Ana, Mia and Sam start to make small talk. Kate is on her phone texting. I do notice, though, that he only looked at Ana briefly when introduced. They shook hands and as soon as he could, he turned his attention back to Mia. Though there were three of them there, he only really paid attention to Mia and was merely polite to Ana. Ana noticed it too because her smile slipped a little bit.

It upsets me to see her even slightly upset, but if I'm right and Sam is more interested in Mia, I'm thrilled.

Kate gets Ana's attention and tells her that someone by the name of Ethan can't make it. Before I can figure out who the hell Ethan is, Elliot starts in on me.

"I'm surprised you showed up, Christian," Elliot says.

"Shut up, Elliot. I invited him," Mia hears this and responds.

"It's Friday and I thought I'd hang out with my siblings and their friends. What's so surprising about that?" I say so that Ana can hear. I want her to think I do this sort of thing all the time. Now, shut up Elliot so I can hear Ana and Sam's conversation.

"How about a round of drinks for everyone? I'll start a tab," I offer.

"Sure, Mr. Moneybags. Isn't that what you call him, babe?" Elliot says to Kate.

She has the grace to flush and look embarrassed. I raise my eyebrows at her and she looks away. I see Ana and Sam talking. I call the waitress over and everyone orders. Elliot orders a gin and tonic, Sam and I order beers and the girls order a pitcher of margaritas. Elliot is usually a beer drinker so I'm surprised that he ordered a mixed drink.

"Ana, remember that time after finals when we go so drunk off margaritas? We were so wasted, we tried to hitch hike home. Thank goodness someone had the good sense to call Jose and he came and got us," Kate says.

Ana blushes and laughs.

"Ana Banana has a wild side," asshole Elliot says. "Tell me more." She giggles.

"It was my first time drinking and Kate kept filling my cup. I felt like absolute crap the next day," she says. Kate and her both laugh.

Drinking? Attempted hitch hiking and taking a ride from some Jose? Oh, no. It's a good thing she has me to look after her now.

"So, Sam, how long have you worked at Grey Construction?" I need to know what the fuck I'm up against.

"A little over a year," he says. "I got the job a few months after graduation. I didn't realize Elliot was your brother until a few months after I started. I never made the connection."

Just then the drinks arrive and Elliot drinks his in 3 gulps and orders another one.

"Well, Sam, it's not like he gets away from his ivory tower to hang out with the little people. Right, brother? Shouldn't you be leaving right about now to do some work, or whatever else you would normally do on a Friday night? Are you sure there's no one at home waiting for you?" Elliot is all but sneering at me. I'd really like to knock him on his ass but this is neither the time nor the place.

I've had enough of this fucker. How am I supposed to be my best for Ana if he keeps acting so hostile?

I meet his eyes. "I'm doing exactly what I want to do tonight, Elliot," I tell him. "Stop being such an ass."

The waitress comes back with his gin and tonic. While the waitress check on everyone else, Elliot finishes his drink and orders 3 more gin and tonics for the table.

"My brother is buying, so keep them coming. He's a big tipper," he tells her.

I look over and see Ana talking to Kate. After a few minutes, they head towards the ladies' room. Mia and Sam hardly notice as they carry on their conversation. Elliot goes to the bar to check on the drinks. Mia is leaning in to him and is hanging on his every word. He's telling her about growing up in Portland and how his father is a retired firefighter. I don't know what Mia says to him next, but he starts to laugh. Mia sees another group across the room and waves to them. She grabs Sam's arm and they walk over. I recognize them as some of Mia's friends from high school.

Elliot comes back with a tray of drinks and downs his third gin and tonic.

"You gonna feed us too, bro? I think you should since you invited yourself," he says.

"I didn't invite myself. Our sister invited me. Why are you being such a dick?" I bite back.

"I knew asshole Christian wasn't far away. Ana steps away and you're back to your old self. I see the way you've been looking at her. Well let me save you some time. She ain't your type, bro." He starts on his 4th drink. He's getting pretty drunk considering we haven't eaten.

"Do you have some kind of problem with me, Elliot? I'm sick of your passive aggressive bullshit. If you have something to say, grow some balls and say it. I'm standing right here. Say what the fuck you gotta say."

I've had enough of this fucker. I've been nothing but patient with his ass but I'm at the end of my rope.

"You sure you want to hear it? Ok! You want to know what my problem is with you? You're a fucking hypocrite. For years you've pushed the entire family away. For years, I've kissed your ass, trying to get close to you. Trying to be your brother and friend, but you've always been so cold and distant. You've always been such a prick to everyone. So aloof. I thought maybe that that was because you were still dealing with the shit you went through as a kid. I told myself that if I just continued to be there for you that eventually you would see that. You would let me be your brother. Then I find out that that's all a lie. You have this entire other life that we knew nothing about. You had a life of fucking Elena's rancid pussy, countless submissives or whatever the fuck you call them. You let Elena into your life, man. Can you see how twisted and sick that was, or are you too selfish? This woman was fucking her best friend's son and had no qualms about showing her face for Sunday dinner, or holidays, or birthdays. And worse than that, you trusted her with your issues. Her! After all the times I've reached out to you for you to reject me, you trusted Elena fucking Lincoln. You allowed that sick cunt to help you all the while keeping us at arms-length," he says.

He gets right in my face. "You rejected all of us for years. So guess what? I say fuck you, Christian," he shoves me as he attempts to walk away from me.

I grab his arm and force him to turn around. My back is now to our table.

I see Taylor start to walk towards us. He stands a few feet away, ready to diffuse the situation if need be.

"You're making the biggest fucking mistake I ever made about you?" I ask, incredulous.

"I said fuck you, Christian," this time he shoves me and I stumble back.

I've had enough and I shove him back. Hard. Elliot is stronger than I am but the alcohol must be really affecting him because he stumbles back 2 steps. He tries to lunge at me, but Taylor steps in between us. I tell Taylor to let him go.

"You want to talk about selfish, asshole? Look in the god damn mirror. What I went through had nothing to do with you. Yes, I was horrible to my family and I have to live with that every god damn day. You know I've had to deal with the fact that I was molested and you make this about your feelings. About how I rejected you? I didn't realize you were such a narcissist," I say as I shove him again.

He lunges at me then and I almost fall to the ground. I push him away and he gets up and decks me in the mouth. Without missing a beat, I punch him right back, making him stumble. He might be stronger, but I'm sober.

Taylor now gets in the middle and puts his hand on Elliot's chest to keep him away.

Mia must have seen what was happening because she rushes back with Sam following her.

"What the hell are you doing, Elliot. You drunk?" Mia asks.

"No, not drunk, little sis. Just telling this asshole here how I feel about him."

Kate and Ana come back in the room, now aware of the chaos.

"Look, Ana and Kate are back. Let's go Kate. I can't be in his presence for another second," Elliot is starting to slur his words and is swaying from side to side.

I thought he was done but I was wrong.

"Let's all go to my house, guys. Not you, Christian. Go back to your ivory tower. Hey, did you all know he likes to tie up women and beat them?" I hear Ana gasp.

"Elliot, shut the hell up," this from Mia.

"Mr. Grey, I'm going to escort you to your car so that Ms. Kavanaugh can drive you home," Taylor says.

"You don't work for me Taylor. I don't need you to handle me." Elliot tries to shove Taylor away but Taylor doesn't budge.

"So, you're done with me now because I kept shit from the family?" I ask him. "Is that what you're saying?"

"I'm saying that you can go straight to hell. You can take that old bitch you were fucking with you too. That's right, everyone. My baby brother, the one who everyone thought was either gay or a virgin, fucked our mom's best friend at 15. And she acted as some sort of pimp and found women for him after he got sick of fucking her," he says and starts to laugh.

"You're a big bad dom, right Christian? Full disclosure, everyone. I don't think Ana is into BDSM, brother," he laughs.

I see Ana standing there like a deer in the headlights.

Mia starts to cry and gets in Elliot's face. "Elliot, I said shut the hell up. He was taken advantage of. If you came to the family therapy sessions you would know that. Why are you making such an ass of yourself? Shut the fuck up," she says in an angry whisper.

"Let's all go somewhere and talk, guys. Please," says Mia.

"I'm gonna head out. This seems like a family thing. I'll call you tomorrow, Mia. Bye, everyone," Sam says and leaves the room.

"I'm done talking," Elliot says. He grabs Kate's hand and walks out.

"Taylor, please follow him and make sure he gets in the car. Don't let him drive," I instruct Taylor.

What a fucking disaster! And I'm such a fucking idiot. After all the years of therapy, I couldn't recognize the signs. Of course he's angry but I think he's more angry at himself for not saving me. What he doesn't understand is that I was a horny 15 year old and she offered me a way to get off without being touched. That was what got me hooked. How the hell could Elliot have helped me with that? He was just a kid himself. I was in it to get off, and I believed I needed to be punished. For so long I've had so much self-loathing. That is still something that I struggle with everyday.

Back then I credited Elena with the change in me. My grades got better. I stopped drinking. I stopped fighting. For once, Grace and Carrick were proud of me, but the ugliness within remained. The nightmares never went away and the memories of my mother lingered.

When I dropped out of college, Carrick was ready to disown me, but it was Elena who loaned me the money to start GEH. Once again, my parents were disappointed in me and she was someone I could go to. I didn't realize then that she was so manipulative. I should have gotten a clue when I told her I was ending our arrangement because I wanted to be a Dom. She helped me train and offered to supply me with women. I should have known then how inappropriate that was but I was busy starting my business and she knew my type. I didn't see that even though I was no longer her submissive, she still had all the control over me. She controlled who I fucked, how I saw myself. She prevented me from reaching any major milestones in therapy.

I was such a fool for so long. When I came clean, I felt a huge relief. When the family, with the exception of Elliot, asked me for forgiveness and stood by me, I realized how delusional I was not see the love my family has for me.

I'm seeing Flynn at least twice per week and he's brought in a therapist who specializes in touch issues. I'm able to bear some touch. That's why I didn't lose my shit and really pound Elliot's face when he shoved me earlier. I was going to wait to share the news with my family. I'm making huge strides now, but I feel cheated. I feel that if Elena hadn't been in our lives, I could have reached those milestones a decade ago.

I should have realized the signs that Elliot was showing. He's angry because he blames himself.

I shouldn't have let this go for so long to go and talk to him. I should have forced him to talk to me. We probably still would have ended up coming to blows, but we would have cleared the air sooner. Tomorrow, I'm going to his place and he'll have no choice but to talk to me. This time without any liquid courage.

I turn to Mia. She has tears in her eyes.

"I shouldn't have let this go on for this long, Mia. I'll fix this. I'll go over to his place and talk to him tomorrow.

"I'll come with you," Mia offers.

"No. We need to handle this brother to brother."

"Ok. I love you, Christian," Mia says and hugs me goodbye.

I see Ana at the table getting her purse so that she can leave.

"I'm sorry about tonight, Ana. I really wanted to just come out and have some fun, but things took a dark turn. I'm sorry you had to hear and see such an ugly scene."

"Don't worry about it. These things happen within families. I'm hardly one to judge. I heard what Elliot said about your mother's friend, though. I'm so sorry that happened to you," Ana says giving me a sad smile. Great. The last thing I want is for her to feel sorry for me.

I decide to change the subject.

"Sorry I ruined your date with Sam," I'm really not sorry about that. As much of a disaster as this night was, this is the one thing I'm not sorry about.

"He's more into Mia anyways," she shrugs. Good! Otherwise I was going to contact an engineering firm on the east coast and use my influence to get him a job. I still might do that if he's a jerk to my sister.

"Do you need a ride home?" I ask.

Before she can respond, Taylor comes back.

"I made sure he got into the car ok. Kate's driving. He's pretty wasted, sir," Taylor says. I see Ana looking at Taylor curiously.

She puts out her hand and introduces herself.

"Hi. I'm Ana."

"Taylor, ma'am."

"Are you two friends?" Taylor looks at me waiting for me to respond. I figure honesty is the best policy.

"Taylor works for me," I say vaguely. She looks at me waiting for me to elaborate.

"He's my bodyguard. I have to have a security detail," I don't offer anymore than that. She doesn't need to know about the threats I receive occasionally.

"Well thanks for the drinks. My car is at the GEH parking garage. Apparently one of the perks of being the daycare administrator is my very own parking spot," she says, trying to keep things light.

"I'll walk you to your car," I say. She doesn't respond so I follow her out. We cross the street, but this time I don't offer her my arm. I'm worried that she sees me as the tainted, damaged goods that I am. Fucking Elena ruins everything! I'm going to blame her for the disaster tonight was. I shake my head. I'm to blame for not reaching out to Elliot sooner.

We enter the garage and she walks towards this very ancient VW Beetle. It's powder blue with bits of rust. It was probably made the year Carrick was born.

She opens the driver's side door and I walk up and stand directly in front of her. She's practically pressed up against me.

She looks up at me nervously. We make eye contact for a few second but she looks down. I grab her chin between my forefingers and force her to look up at me again. Our eyes lock. Neither one of us seems to be able to look away.

"You're so beautiful," I say. She blushes profusely and tries to look away again. I hold her steady and lean down. I graze my lips against hers. So soft. She must feel what I feel because I can see goosebumps on her arms. I press my lips to hers. She doesn't pull back, so I deepen the kiss. I push my tongue into her mouth. She moans and opens her mouth wider. She tastes of tequila and salt. I think I hear myself moan. I pull her flush against me, holding her securely. She's so small, so soft. I pull her closer but she pushes me away.

"Stop," she says. "We can't. I just met you and you're my boss. Let's be honest, I don't think…," she stops and the sentence goes unfinished.

I'm breathing pretty heavily and willing my erection to go down.

"You don't think what?" I say.

"Never mind. I gotta go. Your bodyguard is waiting for you."

"Can I see you tomorrow?" I can't believe I'm practically begging this woman whom I've only known a few hours. When did I being such a whiney bitch?

"No. You're my boss."

"Is that the only reason? Why do I think you're not being completely honest with me? Is it what Elliot said because if it is, that stuff is in my past."

"No, it's not that. Your private life is your business. It's just that I work for you and I don't want to complicate things. Besides, we come from two different worlds and have nothing in common. You have a body guard, for god's sakes. I shouldn't have let that kiss happen," she says. She gets in the car and closes the door with me standing there. She drives off, heading towards the garage exit.

I turn around and I see Taylor standing by my car waiting for me. He couldn't have gotten into the driver' seat and wait for me? He has to stand there like some sort of sick voyeur? No wonder she drove out of here like a bat out of hell.

I walk and get in the car.

I make a mental calendar of my day tomorrow. Wake up, jerk off with thoughts of Ms. Steele, work out, have it out with Elliot, and come up with a plan to see Ana.

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll do my best to have chapter 4 up by Sunday. In the next chapter, Christian and Elliot will have a heart to heart. Afterwards, he will focus on getting Ana to give him a chance.**


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

ANA – THE SAME NIGHT

What the hell just happened? Talk about a night taking a turn. Never in my wildest dreams did I see the night turning out the way it did. The plan was to meet Sam, hopefully hit it off and maybe have a one on one date sometime in the near future. As soon as I laid eyes on Sam, I knew immediately that I was not attracted to him. On paper, he fits. He's not unattractive. He's pleasant and we both have parents with blue collar backgrounds. Like me, he got a scholarship to attend college and he's now making his way in the world, but something was just missing. There was no spark. He must have felt the same way because he spent the entire evening consumed with Mia Grey.

I can understand it. If Mia and Sam hit it off, this evening won't be a total waste.

She's tall, attractive and much more outgoing than I am. How did Stephen Morton describe me as one time? Oh, yeah. He said I was an interesting as a damp dish rag. I've always been a little on the quiet and shy side, so I can't say that he was wrong, but that really hurt. I refuse to think about that man now. I hate how the experience with him keeps seeping into areas of my life when I least expect it.

Now as far as Christian Grey goes, I will be keeping that man at arm's length. The first way of doing that? One thing I learned about GEH when I was researching the company is that they are very formal over there. Therefore, I will refer to him strictly as Mr. Grey. He's my boss and I can't go around using his first name. That's way too familiar. Although as sexy as he is, I'd like to get way beyond familiar. Stop it, Ana! Just stop it! He probably just wants only one thing. I bet he's the type who likes the chase but will lose interest once he gets what he was chasing after.

Not that I would know. I've had guys interested in me, but I've never really given into the chase. I dated Paul Clayton for about 3 months the senior year in high school. His brother owned the hardware store where I worked part time, and Paul was in my class. He was my boyfriend for about 3 months when he realized that I wasn't going to get past third base. He lost interest and moved on to someone else.

That happened close to graduation and I had too much going on to give Paul and his behavior towards me much thought. My mom must have given him my phone number recently because he's texted and has been hinting about coming to Seattle to see me. I haven't encouraged him, though. I want a new life in Seattle with new people.

Mr. Grey unnerved the hell out of me. Why on earth did he keep staring at me all night? Every time I turned around, his eyes were on me. Those dark, gray, sensuous, bedroom eyes. I felt like he was undressing me with those eyes. Why couldn't he be over 50, fat and bald? Why does he have to be young, attractive and charming? Why did he have to kiss me and why did I let the kiss go on as long as I did? I blame that damn cologne he was wearing. It must be some expensive ass shit to put me under such a spell. That cologne alone must cost more than I make in a month.

Just remember that, Ana. Just his cologne costs more than you make in a month. It's probably $500 an ounce or something ridiculous like that. This man is way out of my league. A carpenter's daughter from Montesano has no business being with a man like such as Christian Grey. Stay in your lane, Ana Steele, before you get run over!

Besides the wealth, power and extreme influence that Mr. Grey has, thanks to Elliot's drunken tirade, it seems like he comes with quite a bit of baggage as well. It seems like some dark family secrets have recently come to light. Being molested and taken advantage of by your mom's best friend is beyond my level of comprehension. And this woman got him involved in BDSM? From the little I know about BDSM, it's supposed to be consensual. If that's what the parties are into, who am I to judge?

What two consenting adults do in their private lives is their business, but Mr. Grey was not an adult at the time and could not consent when this predator got her hooks into him. What kind of person does this to a child? The child of your supposed best friend? If I ever see this woman, I'm going to use some of the self-defense moves that Ray taught me on that evil, predator bitch troll.

Calm down, Ana, I tell myself. When would you ever be in a situation where you would meet or see this woman? I need to stay away from Mr. Grey. If I ever do run into him, I will keep it professional. We do work in the same building, after all. It's only a matter of time before we run into each other. I'll do my best to avoid him, but if we run into each other, I will put on my professional, aloof demeanor.

I finally pull into a parking spot in our apartment building lot. I go inside an empty apartment. Kate has been spending more and more time over at Elliot's. I suppose he really needs someone with him tonight after he got so drunk and made such a scene. I'd hate to be Elliot Grey in the morning.

I take a quick shower and get into bed. I fall asleep instantly and dream of gray eyes.

CHRISTIAN – THE NEXT MORNING.

I wake up around 6 am on Saturday morning. I only had one nightmare, which is an improvement. Most nights I have 3 before I give up on sleep and end up at my piano.

I rub one out quickly while I think of clear, blue eyes and smooth, white thighs. As I'm stroking myself, I play that giggle in my head over and over again. I see the pink blush and shy smile. I come all over my hands and stomach.

I wash off with a washcloth and run on my treadmill for half an hour. I usually prefer to run with Taylor, but he has today off and it's raining pretty heavy outside this morning. I send Sawyer, my other CPO, out to get me breakfast. I decide on a spinach and mushroom omelet.

It's about 10 o'clock when I decide to make the trip to Elliot's house. As much of party boy and skirt chaser as Elliot is, you'd think he would live in a condo downtown, close to the night life, but he lives in a gated community full of town homes in Bellevue, a 5 minute drive from our parent's house. I guess he likes living close to them. He eats dinner there most nights.

I ring the bell and after about 3 minutes, Kate opens the door. Her hair is disheveled and it look like she's wearing one of Elliot's shirts.

She looks surprised to see me.

"It's Mr. Moneybags. Is Elliot up yet?" I ask trying to keep it light.

She blushes but her blush doesn't compare to Ana's.

"I'm going to kill your brother," she says. "I'm sorry. It was just something I said as a joke. I didn't mean to offend you."

"No offense taken. I've been called much worse. Is he up yet? I'd like to talk."

She looks at me, probably question whether or not talking to Elliot right now is a good idea. I guess she decides not to ask questions.

"I'll go get him," she says. She leaves and I take a seat in the living room.

I look around the room. I haven't been here in a while, but it looks like he's gotten new furniture. His colors are warm browns and beiges. He has family photos and artwork everywhere. It's nice to see that he hasn't cut me out of the family pictures. There's a framed photo of me and Elliot fishing on my dad's boat. That was about 2 years ago when dad insisted on a Grey men's weekend at the Columbia River and Tributaries for my birthday.

I remember not wanting to go away that weekend. I had a sub, whose name I can't even remember now, and I wanted to have her in my playroom. After much pleading from mom, I went. I ended up having a great time. Dad drank so much the first evening, he spent have the night throwing up. Elliot and I made so much fun of him the next day for being such a light weight. He made us promise not to tell mom. Elliot made him buy his silence for $20. I was so shocked when dad pulled out his wallet and paid, that I spit my beer out. I told Elliot is silence was worth way more than that. Dad agreed and for the rest of the weekend, we referred to Elliot only as Cheap Whore.

I look at the picture and it's me and Elliot holding up a huge salmon. We are both smiling at the camera and Elliot was giving the thumbs' up sign. Dad's been wanting to do a family weekend of fishing, but we haven't been able to arrange it in all this time. Maybe I should take the lead and do that.

Elliot walks in while I'm holding the picture frame of us. He looks like you'd expect someone with a bad hangover to look. His hair is all over the place. He's in the same clothes he was in last night, which are not stained and wrinkled. I can smell body odor and stale alcohol all the way from here.

"I'm surprised you haven't cut my head out in all of these pictures, El. I like what you've done with the place."

Before he can respond, Kate comes back dressed in last night's outfit.

"I'll go so you two can talk," she says.

She looks straight at me and says, "I'm sure Ana is wanting some company right about now."

I hold her stare but make no comment. I don't know how she feels about me and Ana, so I'm not giving anything away.

She hugs Elliot goodbye and whispers something in his ear. He nods.

After she leaves, I turn back to look at Elliot.

"It's too early for this, C. I'm not feeling well and I'm not in the mood," Elliot grumbles.

"Too bad. You decide to make a spectacle of yourself in a public place and in front of strangers. I say this conversation is way over-due," I say. I'm tired of his shit. He's going to have to man up and speak with me today or I'm going to beat the shit out of his hungover ass.

"Fine," he says, resigned. "Let me just get some coffee first. You want some?" This is the most he's said to me sober in months.

"Sure."

Elliot goes into the kitchen and makes a pot of coffee and offers me a mug. It's a red mug, full of hearts. I admire his skill in the kitchen. I would set the house on fire if I tried to do that. If Gail isn't there to make breakfast, I have to have one of the security guys get me some Starbucks.

He stays quiet. I decide I better start this conversation or we're not going to get anywhere.

"You made quite a scene last night," I begin.

"Look, man. I'm sorry for it coming out in such a public forum but I meant what I said. Ever since mom and dad brought you home, I've made every attempt to build a relationship. I was only 7 when they adopted you, but I was so happy to have a brother. They bring you home and you don't talk, but we still play, and do shit that causes us to get in trouble together. When Mia comes along, you finally open up and for a few years, things were great between us. You still had your issues with touch and the nightmares, but you were ok. You were my best friend. Then the teen years hit and you become a fighting and drinking machine. I know I had just gone away to college when you were 15, but I tried everything to get you to open up to me. I offered for you to come spend weekends with me at Stanford, but you wouldn't. I would come home for the weekends to spend time with you, but you'd either be locked away in your room or helping Elena. Now I guess I understand why," he says and takes a sip of his coffee.

I was about to speak, but Elliot continues.

"For years, I couldn't understand what happened. You weren't fighting anymore and your grades improved, but your relationship with the family got worse. It was polite and distant, not how one would behave with their family. So I try harder to reach you, with no success. When you went away to Harvard, our relationship almost became non-existent. I tried everything. I called. I emailed. Hell, I even wrote letters and the most I would get would be an unenthusiastic response. You dropped out and mom and dad were so angry. I figured I would be the one to bring the family back together, but you just kept pushing us all away. I'd go two or three months without hearing from you, but I kept trying. For years, the only time you would give me the time of day is if I forced you to. You never initiated contact with me and that hurt. Then I find out about you and Elena fucking Lincoln. I can't even say her name. When I found out about that, C, I just didn't know how to feel at first."

"Elliot, I never thought that my behavior would affect you like have such an effect on you. I guess I should have, but I only saw things the way the affected me. I'm sorry about that. I was a total dick and acted like a selfish asshole towards the people who have always loved me. You already know the story about my life before I became a Grey so I'm not going to rehash that shit. I had so much anger, so much sadness inside of me for so long. Then puberty hit and I was a horny, angry kid who couldn't stand to be touched. What girl would want to fuck me when I would freak out by the slightest touch? I couldn't trust myself not got get violent with someone for touching me so I stayed away from girls. Then Elena offered me a way. Part of what I found appealing about BDSM is the rules, and one of my rules was no touching. So, imagine my situation. I'm horny, angry and frustrated and this older woman offers to fuck me without touching my no touch zones. Of course, I took her up on it.

I was fifteen and didn't see what she was doing as wrong. She punished me when I got a bad grade, so my grades improved. Once mom told her I got into the liquor cabinets and she took a cane to me. Guess what? That shit hurt so I stopped drinking. I saw all of those things as positive. Mom and dad were happy so I must have been doing something right, right? I didn't see her for the manipulative person that she is. That came later, with age and the help of Flynn. By the time she spilled the beans at the party, I hadn't been intimate with her in years. I hadn't had a submissive in months. I was pulling away and she was getting desperate to keep her control over me. That night, she was offering to come fuck and I turned her down. That's when mom overheard. I didn't see how fucked up it was that she would find women for me or that her interest in my life was borderline obsessive. I thought she was my friend, the one person who helped after I dropped out of college," I finally finish.

That must have been the wrong thing to say.

"Elena was the only person who was there to help you? See, that's what I'm talking about. I was there to help you. I was always there," he says dejectedly.

"Yes, you were, but I didn't want to bring you into my shit. You were always the happy, carefree one and I didn't want to taint you. I always felt that you guys didn't deserve to be with someone as fucked up as me."

"You know I blame myself, C? I felt like I let this happen to you. I should have tried harder. I should have known somehow," he says.

"Elliot, there is no way anyone could have known. This is not your fault. This is on me and Elena," I say.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for what that predator did to you. You were a scared kid and she preyed on you, took advantage of a 15 year old boy with issues. That cunt alone is to blame, not you."

"I was so devastated that night you told us. Do you know what I did? I drove to her house and parked outside for about 2 hours. Thank goodness our parents raised us to hate guns, because if I owned a gun, I probably would be waiting for my murder trial right now. Then I thought about going into her house and beating the shit out of her, but we were raised never to hit a woman. A few days later, I came up with a plan to burn down Esclava or to cut the break lines on her Mercedes, but the last thing this family needed was me behind bars. I swear, C. I became full of anger and because I couldn't take it out on that bitch, I turned my anger on you. I'm ashamed of my behavior last night. Kate told me off last night for behaving that way. You should know Sam signed an NDA and won't say anything."

"Look, you were indiscreet but I never saw things from your point of view. I didn't know you were hurting or blaming yourself. If I'd known, we would have had this talk sooner. I'm not angry at you about last night. I just wish you had said all of this to me sooner."

He nods.

"I'm glad you decided not to do anything criminal to Elena. Look, her shop is failing. It's only a matter of time before she has to close up shop. Let the universe take care of her. I'm having someone watch her 24/7 so the minute she does something wrong, I'll know. We can go after her together."

He nods once again.

"Are we good?" He asks.

"As far as I'm concerned, we are," I reply.

"Good. Let's stop talking about our feelings like a bunch of women. We're good, man. I'll stop being a dick," Elliot says. Just like that, my brother is back.

"And I'll stop being aloof. I need my family and that includes your dumb ass, ok?"

"I'm the dumb one? I'm not the one who had drool on his chin over Ana Banana last night. You were pathetic," he laughs. He moves to slap me on my back but stops himself.

"It's ok, El. I've been working with a therapist who specializes in patients with touch issues, and I've been able to tolerate some touch. That's why I didn't lose it and kick your ass when you touched my chest last night."

"Like you can ever kick my ass. Ana, huh?" He asks.

"I thought you said you wanted to stop sharing our feelings like a bunch of women?"

"Fuck that. This I want to hear. You just promised to stop being aloof. If you want me to help you get the girl, start talking."

"Fine. I lost my ability to speak when I first saw her. I have a meeting out of the office on Monday but I'm thinking of forcing them to come to me or canceling the whole thing because I don't want to leave the building knowing that she's there. You happy?"

"God, you have it bad then. I've never seen anything more pathetic in my life. You were like a little puppy," he says.

"I walked her to her car and we kissed but she put a stop to it really quick and drove off. She said I'm her boss and she mentioned something about me having a body guard. Taylor was there the entire fucking time lurking in the parking lot like some kind of pervert. What can you tell me about her?" I ask.

"She's quiet, shy and loves to read. I've been with Kate for about 5 months now and I've never known Ana to even have so much of a date. That's why I tried to fix her up with Sam last night."

"Thank goodness that didn't work out."

"I don't know the details but Kate mentioned that her mom married this asshole when Ana was about 13 and he was horrible to her mom. Kate seems to think she's guarded against men because of what went on with that asshole. He treated Ana's mom like shit. I think he treated Ana pretty poorly too because her mom sent her back to Montesano to live with her dad. That's all I know. Jesus, of all the people for you to fall for, you fall for one who works for you. Are you sure you're interested in her? Kate will kill both of us if you hurt her. If you want to get laid, I can find you someone."

I got to figure out who this asshole was and what he did to Ana. If he laid one hand on her, I will destroy his life.

"I don't' need you to get me laid, Elliot. Grow up. I'm interested in Ana, not some random hook up," I say.

He rolls his eyes.

"Fine. I'm done gossiping like a 15 year old girl. Watch this," he says as he grabs his cell phone.

"Hey, babe," the asshole calls Kate while I'm standing right here.

I don't know what she says but he tells her everything is ok now. He listens for a bit longer and then puts the phone on speaker. He mouths for me to stay quiet.

"Is Ana there. I have something to say to the both of you. Put your phone on speaker, babe," he says.

"Ana," I hear Kate yell. "Elliot's on the phone and he wants to talk to you."

"Hey, El," I hear my angel say.

"Hey, ladies. I want to apologize for being a total douche last night. I want to make it up to you by taking you both to a late lunch. I'll invite Mia too. What do you say?" Elliot asks.

"Is your brother ok, El?" This from Ana. She's so sweet to worry about me. My heart aches just hearing her voice.

"We talked and cleared the air. What do you say? Pick you up in about an hour."

"Can we have seafood?" Kate asks.

"Sure. You in, Banana?" Elliot presses.

"I don't want to be a third wheel, and you don't owe me an apology, Elliot. Just work it out with your brother," Ana says. I look at Elliot. I can't speak but I'm telling him with my eyes to convince her.

"Mia is coming too so you're not a third wheel. Blueacre Seafood? I'll pick you both up, ok?"

"Ok," I hear Ana say. "That sounds fun. See you soon. I'm gonna go get ready."

"I'm going to go get ready, too. See you in a few," Kate says hanging up.

"So, what's the plan?" I ask.

"I show up with Mia and you. We all go to lunch. You try to have a conversation without drooling. Come on, man. Grow a pair. Give me a few to shower and change."

I feel nervous all of a sudden, and Christian Grey doesn't do nervous. I run a billion dollar empire and I'm scared of a 5 foot 2 inch little woman? Fuck, no. If that kiss was any indicator, she's attracted to me. I just have to build upon that. But how? I'll have to figure it out along the way.

"Hurry the fuck up, Elliot," I yell up the stairs.

ANA

"It's just not a good idea, Kate," I say.

"But why not? He couldn't stop looking at you all night. It was pretty funny to watch. I've always heard about how ruthless he is in the boardroom, but he wasn't like that at all last night. He was like a lost little puppy the way he kept following you with his eyes. It was quite sweet," Kate says.

"What am I supposed to do with a man like that? He's way out of my league. I could never hold on to a man like him for long," I say. Lord knows Carla would never hold on to a man and that shit is probably genetic.

"Bullshit. You've never even given anyone the time of day. How do you know you can't hold on to him?"

"Well if I'm going to try with a guy, I wouldn't start with him. I looked him up this morning. You know he's a billionaire? He's in mergers and acquisitions. I read a little bit about that and two words come to mind: ruthless and cutthroat. He practically owns half of Seattle and lord only knows what else. He can have any socialite he wants. What does Ana Steele from Montesano have to offer someone like that?" I ask.

"First of all, you're smart as shit, gorgeous, sweet, caring. I can go on and on. You're the total package, Steele. The question isn't what YOU can offer Christian Grey, it's what can Christian Grey offer you. They way he was acting last night, you can have him eating out of the palm of your hand."

"You're supposed to say that. You're my best friend. Have you forgotten I work for him? That can get complicated. Besides, I probably won't get to see him. I work in the daycare, remember? He will have no business down there."

"We'll see. I know guys like him. What Christian Grey wants, he gets. And he wants you. Get ready," Kate says as she walks to her bedroom.

I don't know if she means get ready for Grey or get ready for lunch. I quickly shower, blow dry and flatten my hair. I put on some black leggings, black tank top and a blue denim jacket. I put on a pair of black boots. It's casual but nice. I finish up by adding some gloss and mascara.

Just as I step out into the living room, there's a knock on the door.

"You look good, Steele," Kate says.

Kate has on a short denim skirt and tall stiletto boots and red black sweater.

She goes to open the door and Elliot picks her up off her feet and kisses her right in the doorway. How I wish I had a relationship like that. Ana Steele, the 22 year old virgin, is getting old, lame and pathetic. Maybe I should see Paul again. He's old and familiar.

I look up and I see Mia. Right behind her is Christian. To say I'm speechless is an understatement. Today he's wearing blue jeans and a white button-down shirt. He looks yummy. What I wouldn't give for him to greet me like Elliot greeted Kate. I'd rip that shirt off and have him carry bridal style into the bedroom and make me scream in ecstasy. I've always had fantasies of a man's head between my legs as I moan in pleasure. I can see the muscular outline of his upper body. I continue to look up and our eyes meet. I involuntarily lick then bite my bottom lip.

He's caught me checking him out. Fuck! Without saying a work I turn and go into the kitchen for some cold water.

"You know how to clear a room, bro," I hear Elliot say. I guess the fight they were having is over now.

I walk back out there with a bottle of water, feeling like an idiot for walking out.

"Hey, guys. I got thirsty all of a sudden and needed some water."

"It's hot in here, isn't it, Christian?" Elliot says, laughing.

Christian, er, Mr. Grey rolls his eyes.

We all fall silent.

"Elliot," Kate says, "I want to show you that thing in my room that you needed to fix. Mia, you should come see it, too."

"Sure, Elliot was telling me about the thing on the way over here. Let's go," Mia says awkwardly.

They all leave and it's just me and Christian. Mr. Grey. It's just me and Mr. Grey.

He's looking at me with those intense eyes. He comes and stands directly in front of me. He looks down into my eyes, and puts a piece of hair behind my ear. His touch causes goosebumps all over my body.

"We meet again, Ms. Steele," he says seductively.

I am so screwed.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wanted Christian and Elliot to get over their issues so we can focus on Christian and Ana, and the rest of the crazy Greys. Grace won't be able to contain herself when she gets confirmation that Christian in interested in Ana. I hope to update again mid week. Thank you for following, favoriting, reading and commenting.**


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

ANA

He's standing so close and he smells so good.

I want to rip his shirt open, letting the buttons fly everywhere. I'd run my hands up and down his chiseled chest. God, I want to jump on him and wrap my legs around his body as he takes me to the bedroom and locks the door. To hell with the restaurant. I want him for lunch.

I shake the fantasy out of my head and look him in the eyes. Wrong move, Steele. The look he's giving me tells me he's having his own illicit fantasy.

I step around him and turn my back towards him.

"I'm surprised to see you here, Mr. Grey. Elliot didn't mention that you'd be joining us for lunch," I say. I think that sounds detached and indifferent. Why are my nipples suddenly so hard?

He moves directly behind me and puts his hands on my shoulders.

"Didn't he? I could have sworn he did. I was standing right there when he talked to you," he says, dismissively. He turns me around. I refuse to make eye contact.

He grabs my chin and tilts my face up. I'm forced to meet his eyes.

"I think you feel it too," he says.

I need to change the subject right now!

"Where's your bodyguard?" I ask. Someone needs to remind him about how different we are. A man important enough to have a bodyguard is not the type of man who should bother with me.

"Am I going to need one? Do I need him to keep me safe from you? You've been undressing me with your eyes since I walked through the door."

"You wish," I say, holding his stare. "You think highly of yourself."

"I just know how to read people. Your eyes are telling me that you're not as immune to me as you're trying to pretend. You enjoyed our kiss last night as much as I did."

It took all of my willpower to stop that kiss. I wanted to push him inside of Wanda and let him have his way with me. I wanted him to kiss me passionately, push up my dress and stick his head between my legs, but I didn't do that. I work for him and the last thing I need is to get involved with a 1 percenter. No thanks! No fucking way! I need to find someone more on my level. I'm definitely calling Paul tonight. I need all the help I can get to get this man out of my head.

"I enjoyed it so much that I stopped it? Get over yourself."

"Liar."

"Liar? Prove it," I say holding his stare. The nerve of this narcissist.

"Let's skip this little group lunch and go somewhere just the two of us so I can prove it," he says. This time he drops my chin and grabs my left hand. He kisses my knuckles and I almost combust right there in the middle of the living room. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

"I don't think so, Mr. Grey."

"Why not?"

I don't answer.

"Because I have a bodyguard? He's not invited."

"Go ahead and make jokes, but the truth of the matter is that you're my boss."

"So, you're attracted to me but you're reluctant to get involved because I'm your boss?" He asks.

"I never said I was attracted to you. Get over yourself, Mr. Grey," I sneer.

"Ros is technically your boss," he counters.

"And you're Ros' boss, which makes you my boss."

"You've met Ros. You think she listens to me?" he asks. What a weak argument.

"Regardless, I work for a company that you own. Besides, I'm not interested," I say. I pull my hand away and walk away from him, standing closer to the front door, giving him my back one more time.

"Liar," he says. He crosses the room in two steps, spins me round, and before I can say or do anything, he puts his mouth on mine. My brain tells me to push him away. My brain tells me to knee him in the balls so that he will never do this again, but my body tells me the opposite. My body tells me to open my mouth so that our tongues can meet. We kiss passionately, like lovers who have been apart for far too long. I lose all control and jump up, wrapping my legs around him. The kiss deepens even more hands find his way into his hair. I grab at his hair harshly as we continue the battle of the tongues. Just then, I hear Kate's door open and Kate, Elliot and Mia start to walk down the hallway towards the living room. I stop the kiss immediately and jump off of him. We're both breathing hard when the other three folks find us.

All five of us just stand there in awkward silence. I must be as red as a tomato now. I look at Mr. Grey and I can see a bulge in his pants. Please god, I hope nobody else notices his bulge. What I would give for the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

Elliot breaks the awkward silence.

"The thing in Kate's room is now fixed. Uh, is everyone ready to go, or did you two already have each other for lunch?"

"You need to refresh your lip gloss, Steele," Kate says with a smile. Traitor!

"Let's just go," as I pull open the door with a little bit too much force.

We all walk to Elliot's truck, a brand new, silver Ford F-250 that he uses for work at various construction sites I assume. Mr. Grey walks ahead of me and opens the door for me to get in. I get in and sit behind the driver. Kate and Elliot are in the front. Mia follows me and I think that I'm getting a reprieve from Grey since he's going to sit behind Kate, but he walks to my side and opens the door, forcing me to sit between him and Mia.

How am I supposed to ignore him when he's sitting so close and his scent is invading my nostrils? My heartrate is finally getting back to normal and now I'm stuck sitting so close to him. He actually has the nerve to grab my seatbelt and fasten in for me.

"I could have done that," I huff. The audacity! The high handedness!

"Just being a gentleman," he says, smiling.

Focus, Steele. Don't let him get to you. Think about that time you went camping with Ray and you ended up with poison ivy. Just don't think of the man sitting next to you.

"Everyone strapped in?" Elliot asks.

"Let's go, already! I'm starving," Mia says.

During the drive, I notice that Mia is texting the entire time and has a weird smile on her face. Christian is sitting way too close and pushing his thigh into mine. I try to move closer to Mia but he just keeps invading my space. He puts his hand on my knee and I push it away.

He finally grabs my hand, holding it. He gently rubs his thumb across my knuckles. It's a simple gesture, but it feels so sensuous. My heart rate quickens and I feel my panties being to moisten.

He leans into my ear.

"Stop fighting it. I always get what I want, Ana."

"Men like you usually do," I say. I try to take my hand from his but he holds on tight, making it impossible for me to extricate my hand from his. His hand is so much larger than mine that he has mind hand completely covered.

He lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses it tenderly.

Something inside me just melts. I'm going to turn into a puddle right inside Elliot's truck. I look up and I see Kate has turned around and is now looking at us. She just raises her eyebrows, smiles. I stick my tongue out at her. Real mature, Steele. She sticks her tongue back out at me and turns back towards the front.

I give up the fight and let my hand remain in his. God, it feels good. I lean a bit close to him to get a whiff of his cologne. It's a different cologne than the one he had on yesterday, but it smells just as good. He smells of heaven.

I close my eyes and let my mind wander. What would be the worst thing that could happen with him? I could go home with him. We could rip each other's clothes off, leaving a trail of clothes all the way to his bedroom. I imagine him just ripping my panties off in his haste to get me completely naked. He can lay me down on the bed and climb on top of me, kissing me until we are both gasping for breath. He's leave my lips and latch on to my nipples, one after the other, sucking and biting until it's a hard pebble. All the while, my hands would be in his hair, and my legs wrapped around him. He'd leave my breasts and travel down to my navel, kissing it. I'd push his head down lower, to my wet core.

I think I hear myself whimper when I imagine his mouth on me, sucking on my most sensitive and secret place. A place untouched by any other man. I'm dripping wet and he's licking all of the juices. I hold on onto his head so that he can continue to pleasure me.

Stop it, Steele! You'd make one selfish lover, Ana. You're holding the man's head between your legs, but what are you going to do for him? Oh, I'd reciprocate alright! I'd suck the living hell out of his..

Before I can finish my dirty thoughts, Elliot hits a speed bump and I'm forced back into the present.

I look around and thankfully no one noticed my flushed face. Mia is still texting and you know who still has not let go of my hand.

Thank god no one can read my thoughts.

Finally, we arrive in the parking lot of the restaurant. Ever the gentleman, Mr. Grey opens the door for me so that I can get out.

We step inside what is a very high-end seafood restaurant. The tables have decorated with crisp, white table cloths. It's the type of place I would never consider or afford.

We sit down and he pulls out my chair and sits down right next to me. Once again, I'm between him and Mia. Elliot and Kate are across from us and he has his hands around her shoulders, stroking her skin. She's sitting with her head on his shoulder. They make a perfect picture of what a happy couple should look like. He leans over and just kisses her on the forehead. She smiles at him, grabs his hand and kisses it. It seems so natural, so second nature. For a split second I'm actually jealous of my best friend. She has the type of relationship I wish I had.

Mr. Grey tell us he'll order some chardonnay from a local winery. I know nothing about wine so I just take him at his word. We all look at the menu.

"Have whatever you want guys," Elliot tells us.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Mia says.

The waitress comes over and Mia orders a bunch of appetizers for the table. Mr. Grey orders his wine, and we order entrees to be brought out after the appetizers. I only get clam chowder and a salad. Mr. Grey looks at me but I don't look back. He orders a steak and a bunch of sides. How much can one person eat?

We sit and chat about nothing in particular for a while. Mr. Grey grabs my hand and holds in underneath the table. What I wouldn't give to lay my head on his shoulder like Kate is doing to Elliot. I look over at Mia and she continues to text.

"Who the hell are you texting, Mia? You've been on that damn phone since you got in the car," Christian asks.

"You'll find out soon enough," she says and laughs to herself.

"Whatever," Christian responds.

Our appetizers come out just then. It seems like Mia ordered every appetizer on the menu. She ordered crab cakes, crab cocktail, shrimp cocktail and some other dish with prosciutto. I nibble on a small piece of prosciutto. I'm so distracted by the man sitting next to me that I can't even concentrate on this delicious looking food.

"Eat," I hear him say.

"Dad, is that you?" I sass back.

"You can call me daddy later. Now eat." Smart ass. Ugh!

He puts a piece of crab cake on his fork and offers it to me. Is this man really going to try and feed me at this table? I look around and there are 3 sets of eyes watching us.

"I don't like crab," I lie.

"Since when, Ana? You ate your weight in crab legs at Joes Crab Shack that time, remember?" I look at Kate and give her a death glare. She looks at Elliot and they both laugh. I'm going to kill them.

I look back at Christian and he's still holding the fork up to my mouth.

"I want tartar sauce on it," I say, knowing that I'm going to lose this battle of wills.

He smiles, dips the fork in tartar sauce and offers it to me again. I eat it and it's delicious. He feeds me the entire crab cake one bite at a time. For a few minutes it's so nice to have someone take care of me. Even if it's something as simple as feeding me. Even though I had Ray, I was the one taking care of him. I cooked, cleaned and did the laundry. For the bulk of my teenage years, I didn't have my mother around. As much as I love Ray, he isn't a nurturer. It would be nice to be in a relationship where we would take care of each other, where we would anticipate each other's needs. Yeah right, Steele. Where the hell are you going to meet a guy like that?

I have to say that there is something quite sensuous about him feeding me. I'd like to take him back home and pour chocolate sauce on him and lick it off his chest. Once we run out of sauce, I'd get the whipped cream and put it on his…

"Hey kids," I hear. I turn around and I think I see Mr. and Mrs. Grey walking towards us. Is that them?

CHRISTIAN

What on earth are those two doing here? I don't need them distracting me from Ana. How did they know we were here?

I look at Mia and she's grinning like the cat who got the cream. She looks at me and wiggles her eyebrows

"Are you going to feed me too, Christian?" Mia asks.

I'm going to kill Mia. I guess I know who the hell she's been texting all day.

"No, but I am going to kill you," I respond.

Elliot and I stand up as the parental units approached the table. Mom hugs me and Elliot and greets everyone else at the table. Her eyes land right on Ana. She grabs a chair from another table and shoves it between my chair and Ana's. What the fuck! I was just getting her to loosen up and mom barges in. She doesn't even look at dad, who's left standing there awkwardly until the waitress brings him a chair. The table is not quite tight.

"This is a surprise," I say.

"Not for me," Mia says with another laugh.

"Mia happened to mention you guys were here so we decided to stop by and say hello," mom says.

"Do you guys want to order? Elliot is paying for everything," Mia offers.

My sister is so generous with someone else's money.

"No thanks, dear," mom says. "We just ate."

"Then why are you guys here at a restaurant?" I ask, my voice full of exasperation. I know Mia must have mentioned my interest in Ana and they are here to be nosy and intrusive. She's become such a mother hen since this Elena thing came out. She told me a few weeks ago that she can't rest until she knows I'm happy and that I have someone.

"Hi, Ana. I'm Christian's mother, Grace. It's so nice to see you again," she says to Ana.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Ana says and offers her her hand. Mom bypasses the hand and engulfs Ana into a big bear hug. She lets go and holds Ana's face in both of her hands.

"You're so pretty, dear. Isn't she so pretty, Carrick?"

"Beautiful," dad says, winking at Ana. What the hell is going on? Why the hell are they acting so weird? You'd think they've never seen me with a woman before. Well, I guess they haven't considering Elenagate.

"Why don't we try to get better acquainted. Sit down, honey," she says to me. I'd like to sit next to my woman again without my mother interrupting us. Jesus!

"So, dear," mom says addressing Ana. "How have you been?"

"How has she been since last night? Good question, mom," Elliot says, chuckling.

"I've been fine, Mrs. Grey," Ana says.

"Enough of this Mrs. Grey nonsense. Mrs. Grey is Cary's mother. You can call me Grace, or mom."

Elliot spits out his drink and I put my head in the palm of hand.

"That won't scare her way, mom," Elliot says. "That won't make C look like a freak show at all. Good going?" Elliot gives mom the thumbs up sign and winks at her. Dad laughs loudly as does Mia and Kate. Ana looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Uh, ok. I'll call you Grace," Ana answers awkwardly. I see her looking at Kate for answers but Kate just shrugs. I need to shut this down.

"So, you guys came and said hello. You said it. Now, say goodbye."

"Hush, Christian. We're here because we missed you guys."

"You just saw us last night and Mia lives with you."

Mom just ignores me and turns back to Ana.

"So, dear, how long have you known my son?"

"I've known Elliot for a few months now," Ana says. She looks at me and smirks.

"Oh, I meant Christian." Way to be subtle, mom.

"Well, I don't really know him. How does one ever know their boss, right? We just met last night at the grand opening." She's bringing up this boss shit again? She looks at me as she takes a sip of her water.

"I can tell you anything you need to know, dear. Did you know that he won the third-grade spelling bee? He came in runner up in the 4th grade, and he was so upset about that. My baby doesn't like to come second. He always looked forward to the science fair every year. Elliot, do you remember that time when he inflated the balloon using baking soda? He made such a mess in the garage. Cary and I were convinced he would follow my footsteps and go into medicine, but he majored in business at Harvard. We were all devastated when he decided to drop out." Is she fucking serious. I look up at the table and Ana is smiling at mom, listening politely. She's probably thinking about where the quickest exit is so that she can leave this reality show that is my life.

"Ok, mom. That's enough. I think Christian's idea of Ana getting to know him differs from yours greatly" Elliot says and stands up. "You just made it so that C doesn't get laid again this decade. Let's go. Dad, let's walk your wife out."

"Leave your mom alone, Elliot. She's just happy Christian has a friend," dad says.

"You two need to leave now. I'm 28! I don't my parents to come meet my friends," I say. I've had enough of this shit.

"Well, Ana, here's my card," mom hands her a business card. "I wrote my personal cell phone on there. Call me so we can do lunch. In fact, Mia, why don't you arrange something for the 4 of us girls? That way we won't have the boys around so we can talk freely."

"Let's go, lady." Elliot takes mom's hand and she gets up.

"See you kids tomorrow. Kate, don't forget about dinner with us tomorrow. Ana, honey, I'd love for you to come too. Christian can pick you up,' she looks at me and winks. What's with all the damn winking?

"Uh, thanks for the invitation. I'll let Mr. Grey know about tomorrow. I might have something," she lies.

"Call him Christian. I hope to see you all tomorrow," mom says. When she says all, she's looking directly at Ana.

She finally hugs everyone good bye. When she hugs me, she lingers like she always does now.

"She's a sweet girl, honey. I can tell. She could be good for you," she whispers.

Elliot takes her by the elbow and walks.

"It was so nice to meet you, Ana. I hope to see you and my son again really son. Christian, I'll see you for our weekly lunch on Wednesday. Feel free to invite a friend," dad says. What am I? 12? How come I've never noticed how embarrassing Grace and Carrick Grey can be?

Finally, they are gone.

"I'm sorry about that, Ana. My parents aren't always so pushy."

I turn to Mia and whisper in her ear. "I'm so going to take away your American Express." She looks at me horrified.

How the hell did this lunch get away from me so quickly? We were holding hands. She was letting me feed her and then Hurricane Grace walked in and wrecked havoc.

I'm relieved to see that Ana is laughing. She looks at me and I see the mischief in her eyes. She asks Mia and Kate to go to the bathroom with her.

"That girl will never fuck you after that, C," Elliot says when he gets back to the table. "Seriously, we need to put together a new plan to get you alone with her, man. You have to undo what mom just did."

"Dad wasn't much better. He told me to feel free to bring a friend to our weekly lunch this Wednesday," I tell him. He just shakes his head.

"I'll have Sawyer bring my car. You, Kate and Mia will suddenly remember you have to be someplace and I'll offer to take Ana home." I grab my phone and text Sawyer my instructions. He's to have Ryan follow him so that he can bring me the car. He's to just leave it in the parking lot and get a ride back to Escala with Ryan.

"Here they come," Elliot says.

The girls come back laughing and giggling. Ana sits down next to me.

"That was interesting," she says to me.

"Which part? The part where my mom came in here and embarrassed me or the part where you let me feed you?" I ask.

"Definitely the part where your mom embarrassed you. I've been able to feed myself since I was 2, Mr. Grey. Nothing interesting about that."

I lean in closer to her, invading her space. I see her inhale. Is she smelling me? Oh, yes!

"You and that smart mouth, Ms. Steele. I have some ideas about how I can shut that little mouth of yours up."

"I'm not worried about it, Mr. Grey. You don't have anything to shut me up with, do you?" Oh, Ms. Steele you have no idea. What I wouldn't give to spank her until her little ass turned pink.

Before I can give her a proper response, the waitress comes back with our entrees. Ana gets a cobb salad, and I ordered the steak and shrimp dish. Mia and Kate both get salmon. Elliot gets fish and chips. I got several sides for the table, including mac and cheese, veggies and potatoes.

I see Ana eyeing my steak, so I start feeding her again. This time she doesn't fight it. She just lets me. To my delight, she eats quite a bit. She eats all of her salad, about a quarter of my steak and some mac and cheese. We all share a dessert platter that includes cheesecake, chocolate cake and tiramisu.

"I can't eat another bit," Kate groans.

"Let's get out of here, guys. Mia, I'll take you home. Kate's coming back to my place. Ana, would you mind if Christian brings you home?" Elliot asks.

I see Ana's eyes widen as she looks at Elliot.

"Uh, I can order an Uber. Besides, Christian rode here with us. How can he take me home?"

"My car is outside. I can take you," I say.

"How? Oh, your body guard?" She asks rather caustically.

"An employee. Are you ready?"

"I'll call an Uber," she says and grabs her phone.

I take the phone from her and put it in my back pocket.

"Can't order and Uber without a phone, now can you? Come on. Your apartment is on my way home.

We all stand up and walk towards the front door. I walk ahead of Ana, not giving her a chance to argue with me further. I open the doors and let everyone out.

Ana walks up to me, the anger showing on her face.

"You can take me home, but give me my phone."

"I'll give it to you after you get in the car." I continue to walk, but Ana slows down. I should have known she wouldn't give up so easily because she reaches in my back pocket to try and grab the phone. I grab her wrist and hold her hand firm.

"If you wanted to grab my butt, Ms. Steele, all you had to do was say so. Is it firm enough for you?"

"Nope. Not my type," she says.

"Liar."

We arrive to my car and I let go of her wrist, not letting her take the phone from my pocket. I open the door for her.

"Get in," I order.

"Ana, if you're done pinching Christian's butt, give me a hug goodbye," Elliot says.

"You set this up, Elliot. I'll get you for this."

We all say goodbye and Elliot, Kate and Mia head to Elliot's truck.

I finally slide into the driver's seat of my R8. I make sure I lock the doors before she can try to escape. I take the phone out of my pocket, make like I was going to hand it to her and pull it back as she reached for it. I'm about to put in in my pocket when it vibrates. It's a text from someone named Paul Clayton. Who the fuck is Paul? I make a mental note to find out.

I see her looking around the car. I reach over and strap on her seatbelt. She crosses her arms and looks out the window.

The drive to her house is only about 10 minutes and we stay silent the entire time. Now that we're alone, I'm nervous. How the hell can I convince this woman to get to know me? To give me a chance?

ANA

This is one fancy car. I wonder what something like this costs. I'd look it up but he took my damn phone. High handed, bossy, sexy, firm ass having jerk! It took lots of willpower for me not to pinch that ass. My goodness! He must spend so much time at the gym.

I check out his profile and his eyes are focused on the road. I pretended like I was outraged but he was so sweet during lunch. He fed me, held my hand and made me feel wanted. For the first time in my life, I felt like a man desired me. I wonder how he'd react if I reached over and grabbed his hand.

I look around the car again and look at him. Everything about him screams wealth, class and power. How can someone like me get involved with someone like him? What does he even see in me? He can have anyone. I become lost in thought.

Before I know it, he's pulled into my building's parking lot. I'm looking around trying to figure out how to unlock the door. He opens his door, walks around and opens the door for me. I have no choice but to rub up on him a bit when I exit the car.

I decide to be polite and thank him for the ride, and ask for my phone back.

"I'll see you safely inside," he says.

Damn! I was hoping to avoid that. If this man steps foot inside my apartment, I don't know how I'll be able to stop myself. I'm going to kill Kate for abandoning me like this.

I start walking towards the door and he follows. I have a plan. He walks me to my door, I politely thank him and say good bye. He cannot step inside under any circumstances.

We get inside and step inside the elevator. Big mistake! What is this electricity that I feel in here? He must feel it too because I see his nostrils flair and he pulls on his hair.

Thankfully, we only need to go to the third floor and the ride is brief.

We arrive at my door. This is it.

I politely stick out my hand.

"My phone, please." True to his word, he takes the phone out of his pocket and places it in my hand. I careless toss it in my purse. I unlock the door and turn back to him.

"Thank you for the ride, Mr. Grey. I look forward to starting work on Monday. Have a great rest of the weekend," I say politely.

"I said I would see you safely inside." he says with a smile.

"That's not necessary. You've seen me to my door," I say back.

"God, you're stubborn. Open the damn door."

Fuck! I should say no but I don't want him to think that he affects me. I open the door and we step inside. He closes it and locks it immediately.

"Now you've seen me safely inside. Thanks again," I walk past him, reopen the door and hold it open for him.

He grabs my hand, pulls me further into the apartment and closes the door again.

"What? You want to check under my bed for monsters?" I ask sarcastically.

"You and that smart mouth. I warned you that I'd have to find a way to shut you up." He comes and stand directly in front of me, invading my personal space. I'm hit by his smell. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I open my eyes and he's looking right at me.

"You're so beautiful, Ana. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you ever since I laid eyes on you."

"I haven't thought about you at all," I retort. I'm lying and he knows I'm lying.

"You're a terrible liar."

"Prove it," I dare.

"Miss Steele," he says as he lowers his mouth to mine. "There are two things you should know about me. One is that I always get what I want. The other is that I always win."

"You," I begin. I don't get to finish my sentence because he lowers his mouth to mine and shuts me up. The kiss starts off gentle and sweet, but soon it soon turns rough. His tongue invades my mouth, forcing me to open my mouth wider. He tastes of mint. I grab his face to deepen the kiss. I hear him moan. He puts his arm around my waste and pulls me closer to him. My hands leave his face and go up and grab his hair.

Christian grabs my ass and pulls me even closer to him. I can feel his erection and that turns me on even more. I feel this aching throb between my legs.

He stops kissing my lips and starts to kiss my neck.

"We must stop," I say, making no attempts to move away.

"Why? You feel so good baby."

"Because you're my boss," I say breathlessly.

"This shit again? I told you, Ros is your boss."

"You have a bodyguard," I say.

"I'll fire him tomorrow," he says. He stops kissing my neck and starts to nibble on my ear.

That's my undoing!

I push him away, and take a step back.

We both stop and stare at each other, both out of breath.

I walk and stand directly in front of him again. He stands still, waiting for my next move.

I grab his shirt and pull it open with as much force as I can muster. The buttons flew across the room, landing all over the living room. I'm going to make dirty little fantasy into reality.

He smiles, pulls my denim jacket off, and to my complete shock, he takes my tank top and tears it open. I'm left standing there with a half-torn shirt and my red bra exposed.

I jump into his arms and wrap my legs around his waist.

"My bedroom is the second door on the left," I say breathlessly.

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you so much for all the reviews, follows, favorites and PM's. As you can see, Grace is in desperate need of a hobby. LOL! I mean for this story to be light and a bit on the funny side. I hope I portrayed that in this chapter. Please let me know what you think about chapter 5.**


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

CHRISTIAN

I run to her room as fast as humanly possible. I throw open the door and set her down. I rip off the rest of the tank top and thrown it to the ground. I unclasp her bra and grab both breasts, and they are perfection. They are perky with perfect pink nipples. I'm quite a bit taller than Ana, so I kneel down and capture of her nipples in my mouth.

I suck and bite as she runs her fingers through my hair. She pulls on my hair signaling for me to stand up. Her eyes have now turned turned into a darker shade of blue as they display her need for me. She reaches for my belt and unbuckles it. Before I know it, she's unbuttoning my pants, pulling down my pants and boxers in one swoop. I quickly take off my shoes and socks and I'm standing naked before her. I see her lick her lips as she runs her hands down my chest, past my naval and onto my dick.

She grabs me with her small hand and gently starts to stroke. I throw my head back and moan in ecstasy. How can one woman drive me so wild? I grab her hand to stop her. I don't want to embarrass myself and come all over her hand in under 2 minutes.

I take my time and take off her shoes and socks before pulling down her pants and thong. I sit her down on the bed and kiss my way up her leg to her inner thighs. She opens her legs wider, signaling for me to continue. I reach the apex of her thighs and inhale her feminine scent. I give her a soft kiss and she moans loudly. I spread her open and gently lick her clitoris.

"Oh, god," I hear her say. "Don't stop." I couldn't stop even if I wanted to since she's holding my head.

I continue to lick, suck and bite for god knows how long. I can't get enough of her scent or her taste. I increase the pressure of my tongue to her clitoris and she comes gloriously in my mouth. She finally lets go of my head. I look up and see her with her head thrown back and her chest heaving from breathing so hard.

"That was unbelievable," she says breathlessly.

"We aim to please, Ms. Steele," I say back. I need to get inside of her soon or I'm going to explode. I get on the bed and climb on top of her. I cover her mouth with mine and assault her with my tongue.

"Taste yourself. You taste like honey," I say.

"I'd rather taste you," she says back to me. "Let me get on top of you."

We switch positions and she straddles me. I see her admiring my body with her eyes. She goes to touch my chest, but I capture her hands and bring them to my mouth. I've made progress with touching, but I don't want to react violently.

"Taste me," I say hoarsely.

She scoots down and stops right at my erection. She strokes it a few more times before taking me completely in her mouth. That's no small feat because I'm not small by any means. She takes me all the way to the back of her throat.

"Oh, shit. God, you're good at that," I say.

She continues to suck, taking me to the back of her throat over and over again. I don't think this girl has a gag reflex. As much as I'd love to come in her mouth, I want to come inside of her pussy our first time together.

"I want to be inside you now. God, you're beautiful." I pull her up on top of me and kiss her until we are both breathless. There is something so erotic about tasting myself on her tongue.

"Mhmm," I hear her whimper. "Stop. I have to tell you something and I'll never get it out if you don't stop kissing me."

"How can you expect me to stop kissing you? You're the sexiest woman I've ever laid eyes one and you have the most kissable lips," I say and kiss her again.

"I've never done this before," she says breathlessly.

"Never done what? Been with a man with a bodyguard," I say jokingly.

"No. I've never been with a man."

"You've only been with women?" I say, shocked. She didn't strike me as bisexual. I'm thoroughly confused.

"No, I'm not into women. I've never been with anyone sexually. I'm a virgin."

I stare at her. Did I just hear what I think I heard?

"You're a virgin? How? You're 22 and beautiful. How?" I ask dumbly.

"I've just never been that interested. I want to do this with you, but I thought you should know."

"You want me to be your first?"

"Yes," she says simply.

"Are you sure, Ana? I want to be with you, but I want you to be absolutely sure."

"I'm sure," she says.

I pull her back towards me and kiss her again. I flip us over so that I'm no top of her. With my mouth still on hers, I knead her breasts and move my hands down to her naval. She automatically opens her legs, inviting me to touch her. I touch her pussy and she's soaking wet. She moans into my mouth. I stick my fingers into her moist flesh. She writhes underneath my hand as she grabs onto my ass. I pull my fingers out and taste my fingers, while her eyes remain locked with mine. I take my fingers out of my mouth and put them to her mouth. She opens up and sucks, circling the tip of her tongue around the tip of my middle finger.

"Delicious," she says. How can a virgin drive me so wild? Just then, I remember I don't have any condoms. Fuck!

"Do you have any condoms?" I ask knowing there's a good possibility that she won't have any.

"No, but Kate always has some. I'll be right back."

She runs out and I catch a glimpse of her ass. She comes back a few seconds later with a giant box of condoms and tosses one at me. In record time, I open it and slide it on.

"Come here," I command.

She gets back on the bed and lays on her back. I get on top of her and finger her one more time. She's still soaking wet for me. I position myself at her entrance.

"This might hurt, but I'll be as gentle as possible," I say.

I entwine my fingers with hers and look directly into her eyes. I make sure to hold her gaze as I slide into her for the first time.

I push my way in with one quick push, sheathing myself inside of her completely.

She gasps at the intrusion and I cover my mouth with hers, catching any sound.

"Oh, shit! Holy fuck, that hurt," she says. "Don't move. Give me a second to adjust. You're huge," she says.

I wait a few seconds but I need to move before I just blow my load with giving her at least a few thrusts.

As if reading my thoughts, she tells me I can move.

I start slowly, giving her slow, long strokes. She responds by wrapping both of her legs around me as her moans of pleasure fill the room. She grabs my ass as she tries to pull me deeper inside of her.

I increase my pace and go deeper and deeper, bringing her to the edge. She closes her eyes, throws her head back and continues to moan, calling my name.

"Oh, Christian. Oh, Mr. Grey. Ahhh," she says.

I continue to thrust in and out, in and out, willing her to come so that I can find my own release.

"Oh, my god! It's happening. Ahhhhh," she screams as she goes over the precipice. Her body shudders and she writhes underneath me in pleasure.

"I'm coming, baby," I say. "God, Ana!" I scream as I come inside of her. I lay on top of her, spent and gasping for breath.

"God, that was amazing," I say breathlessly. "You're incredible."

I kiss her again slowly, deeply and sensuously. Our bodies are slick with sweat and we stick together.

I look at her and she covers her face with her hands, and laughs loudly.

ANA

"I can't believe that just happened," I say. "You're right, it was incredible."

He just lays there panting, trying to catch his breath.

I look down, and his once erect dick is now flacid. Boy, how did his huge dick fit inside of me?

"I'll be right back. I have to take care of this," he says pointing at his dick.

He leaves the bed and goes to the connecting bathroom. I watch his ass as he walks away. I lay on my back and stretch out like a cat.

I can't believe I finally gave up my V card! It was better than I ever could have imagined. How did I go 22 years without doing that? I don't think I'll be able to go more than a few days without doing it again.

I lay down and stare at the ceiling and let out a breath. Not only did I just have sex for the first time, amazing sex, but I did it with my boss, a man I've only known since yesterday. A filthy rich man who I was going to avoid at all costs. How did I go from avoiding him, to sucking and fucking him in such a short amount of time? My first time was supposed to be with a long-term boyfriend, not something casual with a man who I work for. I just know he's the type of guy who loses interest once he gets what he wants. Way to go, Steele. You're a real piece of work. A real screw up.

While he's gone, I run into Kate's bathroom to wash myself up. I see some blood on my inner thighs and wash it off quickly with a warm wash cloth. I run back to the room and I'm glad to see I made it back before he did.

Now what?

He comes back out of the bathroom in all of his naked glory. I notice some scars on his chest but decide not to ask him about it. All of a sudden, I'm self-conscious and embarrassed by my nakedness. I decide to get under the covers and cover up.

He slides in behind me and puts both of his strong arms around me. Thankfully I'm turned away from him because I don't know what to say or do. We lay there for several minutes. I don't think he knows what to say to me either.

He kisses my shoulder softly.

"I see you're quiet all of a sudden. What happened to that smart mouth?"

I don't know how to respond so instead I shrug my shoulders.

"What's the matter, baby?" he asks. "Do you regret what we just did?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

I don't answer.

"Hey, look at me," he says. "I want to see those beautiful eyes."

I turn around and we are now facing each other.

"Talk to me," he says.

Why is he being so nice?

"What you must think of me," I say quietly.

"I think you're beautiful, smart, full of sass and just wonderful."

"How would you know that? We've known each other for about 24 hours and for 22 of those hours, I've given you hell. I told myself that we could never be anything more than boss and employee but here we are in bed together," I say.

"It was fast but so what? It's what we both wanted, right?"

"Yes, it was amazing. I couldn't imagine my first time being any better."

"Then I don't understand the problem," he says. Neither do I! I don't know why I'm acting so weird.

"I don't expect anything from you, you know. You don't have to pretend to still be interested now that you've gotten what you want. I must seem so easy to you," I say, my eyes filling with tears. I try to turn away from him so he won't see me cry but he doesn't' let me.

He leans closer to me and gives me the most tender kiss. This kiss isn't lust filled like before. This kiss is slow, patient, and even pleading.

"You know what I thought when I first saw you, Ana?" He asks. I shrug my shoulders.

"I thought you were the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I looked into your eyes and I was struck speechless. My tongue got stuck to the roof of my mouth and I had to force myself to say something intelligent. Then I saw those freckles across your nose and I became lost," he says as he reaches over and kisses me three times on the bridge of my nose.

"Ana, from the moment I met you, I just wanted to get to know you. I still want to get to know you. I want to spend time with you, take you to dinners, take you sailing in the spring and summer, take you away from long weekends and family dinners. I just want to be with you, Ana. I didn't think we'd make love this soon, but I'm so happy we did. It was the single most fulfilling sexual experience of my life, and I'm so honored that you let me be your first. You held on to your virginity for 22 years, and you gave it to me. Do you know what a gift you've given me? You've given me the most precious gift I've ever received. Nothing I can give you will ever compare to that," he says.

"You don't think less of me for giving it up to you so quickly?"

"Do you think less of me?"

"Of course not. It's different for a man."

"No, I don't think less of you. I care about you so much, Ana."

"But we've only known each other for such a short time. How could you possibly care for me already?"

"Because I just do. I was drawn to you the minute I laid eyes on you. I would have done anything to get to know you."

"Really?" I ask in disbelief. Why would someone like him want to know me?

"Yes, really. Come here." He kisses me again, this time with urgency. He cups my breasts and pinches my nipples. I moan into his mouth and put my hand in his hair again. In all my fantasies, I never imagined running your hands through a man's hair could be so sensual. I throw one leg over him and move closer. His hard dick is pressed into my stomach and I stroke the top of it with my index finger.

"I want you so much, Ana," he whispers.

"I want you, too," I say back. "Let's do it again." It's so true. I've never wanted another human being as much as I want this man.

"You're sore, baby. I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm ok," I say. I take his hand and put it between my legs. "See how wet I am for you."

"Only for me," he says.

"Only for you," I say back. "Put it inside me, please," I beg.

"You'll be in too much pain tomorrow. I have another idea," he says. He lays me on my back and puts his fingers inside of me. He finger fucks me while stroking my clit with his thumb. After a few short minutes, I come on his hand.

As soon as he's done, I go down on him again. I can see the veins in his dick, he's so hard. I stroke it several times, lick tip, tasting his pre-cum. I take him deep into the back of my throat over and over again. I don't stop until he comes in my mouth. I can't say I love the taste but I swallow.

I crawl on top of him and collapse.

"You are certainly good at that, Ms. Steele," he says while panting. "Have you ever done that before?"

"Nope."

"Another first," he says.

"It would appear that way, Mr. Grey."

We end up with me laying with my back to his chest. He puts his arm around me and holds me close. I think back to the past 24 hours and how things moved so quickly. I can't believe I acted so silly after our first time together. He's right, I think. The attraction is so strong and it's mutual. If a 22 year old woman, such as myself, chooses to be intimate with a man, then that is my decision. I'm going to own it and enjoy every minute of our time together.

My eyes become heavy and I fall asleep. When I wake up, I see that it's already dark outside.

I turn around and I see Christian is still sleeping. I take a few minutes to study him. He looks so boyish laying under the pink quilt that my mom sent me last Christmas. His hair is all over the place and I notice that his eyelashes are red just like his hair. I pull the quilt down slowly and look at his naked body. I didn't notice before because I was so consumed with my need for sex, but his pubic hair is red too.

He has a broad chest, with just a little bit of hair. His stomach is flat with lots of definition. I look down and he's semi hard. How is this sexy man in bed with me?

He opens his eyes and catches me watching him.

"Do you like what you see, Ms. Steele?" He asks teasingly.

"Eh, it's ok," I say back. "I've seen better."

"Just ok? You wound me." He puts his hand to his heart feigning outrage. He lunges at me, pins me down and tickles me. I lift my head up and bite him playfully on his shoulder. He tickles me until I'm out of breath.

He looks at me and slowly kisses me. The kiss ends only when my stomach grumbles loudly. We look at each other, both stunned by what we just heard. I cover my face with both hands and laugh with embarrassment.

"It's time you eat, Ms. Steele. You've worked up quite an appetite this afternoon," he ways and winks at me. 'Let me take you out to dinner," he says.

"You have no shirt, remember? The buttons went flying everywhere," I remind him.

"How can I forget? In your haste to get to my body, you lost total control of yourself and destroyed a perfectly good shirt."

"Shall we revisit my torn tank top, sir? What about your self control? At least your shirt can be repaired. You ripped mine in half?"

"I seem to have lost all of my self control the minute I laid eyes on such a beautiful creature such as yourself, Ms. Steele. You should really come with a label warning."

I blush, not used to such compliments. A part of me wonders if he's sincere. Well the man is naked in your bad, Ana! It's not like he hit it and ran.

"Besides," he continues, "I can always have someone bring some clothes to me."

"Well, if you do that, they will know what we were doing," I say unable to verbalize what we were actually doing.

"And what was that?" He challenges.

I decide to just change the subject.

"I can cook us something here. No need to bother one of your minions," I say.

"You cook?" He asks.

"Of course, I do. I don't have minions to do things for me," I say back.

"Not minions, Ms. Steele, employees. Now get up and cook, woman!" I get up out of the bed and he slaps my ass rather hard, startling the hell out of me.

"Ow!"

He gets up and comes towards me. I run behind him and slap his ass just hard.

He grabs my hands and holds them above my head.

"You know that only turns me on, right?" He asks.

"So, I've heard thanks to Elliot," I say back.

"Shower with me," he says as he throws me over his shoulder and runs to the bathroom.

CHRISTIAN

The shower was incredible hot. Who knew getting clean could be so sensuous. We take turns washing each other. When it was her turn to wash me, she washed me, chest and back included, with a washcloth. I found that to not only be tolerable, but enjoyable. When she gets to my dick, she drops the wash cloth and uses her hand, jerking me off a few times and looking up at me with feigned innocence.

After the shower, I put my pants back on, sans underwear. Luckily, Elliot left a few shirts here and I was able to borrow one.

We are now in the kitchen as she looks through the fridge, trying to find ingredients to throw a mean together. She tells me she has all of the ingredients to make chicken stirfry. She opens up a bottle of white wine and pours each of a glass.

She has her back turned to me and I walk up behind her and put my arms around her waste, kissing her shoulder.

"You can't stay away, can you?" she says.

"Nope. I won't even pretend. You are simply irresistible," I say.

"I know," she says and laughs.

As I'm standing behind her, watching her chop vegetables, she grabs my hands and put the knife in my right hand. She puts her little hands over mine, and she maneuvers my hand to chop the vegetables. How come no one ever told me that cooking could be so erotic? After we finish chopping the vegetables, she tried to prepare rice in the rice cooker but I added too much water and ruined the first batch.

"It's obvious you are too pretty to cook," she teased. "Sit over there, drink your wine and just sit there for my viewing pleasure. In fact, you should just take off your shirt so I can have something to look at."

I fake a gasp.

"I'm more than a pretty face, Ms. Steele."

"Yes, you're a body too," she says back.

She finishes the rest of the meal and we eat in silence for a while. After several minutes, I get up, pick her up off her chair, carry her back to my chair and sit her on my lap. It's completely silly, but we take turns feeding each other off our plates. Dinner is soon finished and she leans over and gives me a chaste kiss on the lips.

"How about some dessert?" she asks suggestively.

"Ms. Steele, don't tell me you're also trained in the art of baking?"

"I had something else in mind. I have some whipped cream in the fridge and I could put it on your."

She doesn't finish her sentence, instead she grabs my dick through my pants.

"You are quite insatiable. As much as I would love that, I think we should take it easy for the rest of the night. I don't want you to be in too much pain tomorrow. I don't want you limping around while we're having dinner with my family. Grace will get suspicious and she will ask questions you might not want to answer," I say. I just want to casually mention dinner with the family tomorrow.

"Very funny, Mr. Grey. I didn't tell your mom I'd come so don't feel obligated."

I can already see this is going to be a problem. After spending the day with her, I'm just not ready for it to end. I have every intention of spending the night and want her with me tomorrow for dinner.

"I don't feel obligated. I want you there."

"Don't you think it's too early for me to be having dinner with your family? We just met last night."

"If I thought it was too early, would I be inviting you?" I say back to her.

"Well, I don't think I'm ready for that quite yet."

"Ready for what? To eat? You already had a meal with my family earlier today. What's the big fucking deal?" I ask, losing my temper. Every damn woman the pacific northwest would jump at the chance to be invited to dinner at my family's house and I fall for the only one who is reluctant? Isn't that irony for you?

 **Here is chapter 6. This was difficult to write for some reason. I had a hard time figuring out which direction I want this to go in. Going forward, this will be mostly fluff and laughs. I always wanted this to be light hearted. If I ever write another FF, I might do something more dramatic. I hope you guys like this chapter. I hope to update again soon. Expect a time jump sometime in the near future.**

 **Again, thank you for the amazing response to this story.**


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

I own nothing. All credit to EL James

CHRISTIAN

ONE WEEK LATER

I can't believe this woman. I can't believe this fucking woman. What the hell should I do now? I think back to that Saturday afternoon after we made love for the first time. Most women would be ecstatic to be invited to have dinner with my family on a Sunday afternoon, but apparently not Anastasia Rose Steele.

Maybe I should not have lost my temper the way I did, but I'm used to people saying how high when I say jump. I'm used to submissives who are trained in being docile and granting me whatever I want, as long as it's within their limits, of course. But this little spitfire just won't do what the fuck she's told.

She did not take kindly to me losing my temper and asking her what the big fucking problem was with her coming to dinner.

"I really don't appreciate your tone. All I said was that I don't think I should be coming to your family's house for dinner. The fact is that we did just meet last night," she said.

"Yes, and we've already slept together so I guess that means we're moving faster than usual. Besides, my mother has already invited you," I say back.

That's when she turned her back to me and looked out the window.

"It was never my intention to move things along this quickly. I'm not the type of girl to just jump into bed with someone I met less than 24 hours ago," she says. I roll my eyes.

"The fact that you were a virgin made that obvious."

"All I'm saying is that we should just proceed like two people who met last night," she says.

"What the hell does that mean?"

She turns around and looks me in the eyes.

"It means that I'm not ready for family dinners," she says with finality.

Once again, she has rendered me speechless. I know I've never done the whole dating thing but is it so unusual to ask someone you just met to join you and your family for dinner? Elliot's been with Kate for months and he hasn't brought her over before so maybe I am jumping the gun a bit. The situation is not exactly equal, however. She actually met all of my immediate family the night we met. My parents crashed our lunch and personally invited her. I don't know how the fuck to maneuver my way through this mind field. This is why having a contract is so simple. The damn sub knows exactly what I need from them and just do whatever the fuck I want.

But this woman is so damn stubborn.

"Again, it's just a fucking dinner, but if that's the way you feel, fine. I've never had to beg a woman and I'm not about to start now," I say through clenched teeth. Then I really lose my shit.

"You had no problem fucking me a few hours ago. You had no problem wanting to fuck me again. Yeah, you just grabbed the dick of the guy you met less than 24 hours ago, but I guess eating dinner with my family is too forward. Excuse me!"

I can't believe I just lost my temper like that. I should have just kept my damn mouth shut, but I just couldn't. For the first time in my life, I open myself up to someone. I sleep with her without a contract. I allowed her to be near my family and she rejects me over a simple fucking meal. Fuck that shit!

I really want to get in her face and tell her to just have her ass ready when I pick her up tomorrow afternoon, but fuck that! I grab my phone and pretend to read some emails.

I see her eyes fill up with tears but she turns her back to me again so that I won't see as she wipes her eyes. I feel like an ass when I hear her sniffle, but I'm too angry to console her.

"Mr. Grey, I'm," she starts but I interrupt her.

"It's Christian. You just fucked me and sucked my dick. I think you can call me Christian."

"You don't have to be so fucking crass, _Christian_. Do you always act like an ass when someone tells you no? All I said was that I don't think we're in a position to be having family dinners. You don't have to act like a petulant child, but I'm not surprised. People like you think that you can just walk all over people like me, tell us what to do. I may work for your company, but you don't own me. How typical of your kind," she says angrily.

"People like me? My kind? What the fuck kind of people are you talking about? The kind whose dick you wanted to put whipped cream on?" I ask. She had no fucking problem with my kind a few hours ago.

Save it," I say, before she can respond. "I don't want to hear whatever nonsense you're going to say. I have some work to do and a few calls to make," I say. I walk back to her room, with her following me, and put my socks and shoes back on.

"Oh, ok," she says. She looks uneasy and not sure of what to say.

"Look, Christian, I'm…", before she can say anything, I get up and walk out of the room towards the door.

"Save it, Ana. I have some work to do." Just as I'm grabbing the knob to the front door, she runs in front of me and blocks the door. She turns around to face me. I look at her and say nothing.

"Will you listen to me, please?" She asks. "I'm not trying to hurt your feelings or be difficult. It's just that we just met. I've never done this before and I don't know how to navigate things," she says, with her voice trembling.

"I've never done this either, but unlike you, I know what I want and I have no regrets about what happened with us today, but you go ahead and have your doubts and second thoughts. Like I said, I have some work to do tonight. Please get out of the way so I can leave." I could have reassured her.

I could have told her that I understood how she feels and we can go at her pace. I could have said we can get to know each other without my intrusive family. I could have told her that being with her was the most fulfilling sexual experience of my life. I could have told her that I wanted her to spend the day with me tomorrow, and to screw my family, but I didn't say any of that. I was angry and hurt and not in the mood to be the reassuring one.

This time I see her eyes fill with tears and fall down her face. She quickly wipes them and moves out of the way. I opened the door and left without another word or a backward glance.

That was six days ago. Six long, agonizing days. It turns out I really didn't have any work to do that night. I went home and beat the shit out of the punching bag in my home gym. I sat in the empty apartment and tried to watch a movie but I was too distracted to pay attention to a movie. Since I have no friends, I thought about calling Elliot but figured he was most likely busy with Kate. Besides, I wasn't in the mood to tell him about what happened between me and Ana and how I blew it.

Why did I have to be such an asshole that night?

I was dreading going to dinner on Sunday because I didn't want to subject myself to my mother's inquiries about Ana and have to sit through her looks of pity once she figured out I screwed up the relationship because I decided to act like a 15 year old girl with hurt feelings.

And that's exactly what happened. The minute I walk through the doors alone, she started with the questions. And just because the gods love me, I was the last to arrive. Mom, dad, Elliot, Kate and Mia were all there drinking one of dad's lethal lemon martinis.

"Where's Ana, honey?" My mom asked.

"I'm fine mother. It's nice to see you too. You look great, by the way," I say sarcastically. "Can I have one of those, dad?" He hands me a martini and I drink it one two giant gulps.

"Stop being sarcastic, asshole. Answer mom. Where the hell is Ana? There was so much steam between you two yesterday, my windows got foggy," Elliot says. I liked it better when that asshole wasn't talking to me. I ignore everyone, grab another martini and drink that one in one gulp.

"You don't see her here, do you?" The asshole in me just won't quit.

"Let me guess, you scared her away with your sunny disposition?"

"Oh, shut up, Elliot. Stay out of my business." He holds up his hands in defeat and turns towards some appetizers. I start looking around for dad's high-end scotch. Fuck these martinis.

"Honey, what happened? Things were going so well yesterday. Mia said you guys were practically feeding each other. I made sure to personally invite her. Was I too subtle? Give me her phone number. I'll call her," she says. She's talking so fast and looking around like Ana will just magically appear.

I hear Mia, Elliot and Kate all laugh.

I start looking in the cupboards and find some scotch. This will dull me during this damn dinner.

"Trust me, mom," Mia says. "Subtlety is most definitely not your problem. You told her to call you mom, for god's sakes. You probably scared her."

"Leave your mother alone, Mia," dad says. "You were fine sweetheart," dad says to mom. Dad looks at me, smiles and winks. What's with all the fucking winking going on in this family.

That's right. This is all mom's fault. And Carrick's! How dare they crash the lunch, embarrass me and tell the girl to call her mom. No wonder she refused to come. All of that bullshit about it being too soon! She was probably just too polite to tell me that my parents are batshit crazy. I can blame Elliot for this too. He blabbed to everyone who would listen at Fifty's that I was some maniac who liked to whip women. No wonder she regretted being with me. Who would want to get involved with this crazy ass, dysfunctional, nosey fucking family. It's obvious not a single Grey has any boundaries. This is all their fault.

"I just wanted to make her feel welcome. I was really looking forward to seeing her. I pulled out all of your school photos, awards and trophies. I even found some old videos of your piano recitals," she says. Is she fucking serious? Thank fucking Christ she didn't come.

"Mom, please," I say, drinking my Scotch.

Everyone else, dad included, bursts out laughing. I scowl at all of them and finish my Scotch and pour myself another one.

"Mom, if you ever want Christian to get in that girl's panties, you'll throw the pictures, awards and videos in the fire pit," Elliot says.

"I didn't realize it was that hard to get you a date, Christian," Kate says while smirking at me and drinking her martini. I hope she chokes on it. It's her damn fault too for introducing Elliot to Ana.

"It's ok, Christian. Your mom actually had a boyfriend when we met, but I was persistent. He was some loser medical student," dad says. He goes on to tell Kate that before he went to law school, he actually spent a year in medical school before he realized the site of blood made his nauseous.

"I found out they had a date one night. He was supposed to meet her at the local bar off campus, so I let the air out of all four of his tires. Instead of him showing up at the bar that night, I did. We talked, got her to dance with me and took her home. We sealed the deal that night, if you know what I mean," he says with another wink.

"Before that," dad continues, "your mother wouldn't give me the time of day. I tried to talk to her but she blew me off several times in favor of that boyfriend, but I didn't give up. I just had to bide my time and find the right opportunity. The fact that she already had a few drinks in her, didn't hurt either. Made her more receptive to my advances." This time instead of winking, he wiggles his eyebrows.

Great, now I'm going to throw up right here and now.

"Gross, dad," Elliot says while Mia makes gagging noises.

"Oh, Cary. Stop it. You're embarrassing the children," mom says with a blush. So, I guess she does understand embarrassment, just not mine.

"Kate, dear," mom says. "Before you leave, I want you to put Ana's contact information in my phone. Don't worry, Christian. I'll fix everything and make sure Ana is here next Sunday, even if I have to go pick her up myself."

"Sure, Grace. Where's your phone? I'll put her info in there right now so I won't forget," Kate says while looking at me with laughter in her eyes. Mom immediately goes and gives Kate her phone and I watch Kate put Ana's information in mom's phone. I realize that I never exchanged phone numbers with Ana. It would only take a few seconds for me to get her information since she does work for me, but she doesn't have my cell phone number, and that's almost impossible for the layperson to get. When she comes to her senses, she'll have no way to get in touch with me. Serves her right!

And that's how the Sunday dinner went. Mom kept looking at me with pity and at one point reached over the table and squeezed my hand. Elliot, dad, Mia and Kate kept teasing me all night with their smirks. I had a couple of more drinks and stuffed myself with mom's prime rib, twice baked potatoes, mixed veggies. Dinner was finally over once he had home- made apple pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

After dessert, I saw Kate grab her phone and go in dad's study. My gut tells me she's about to call Ana. I look around and I see mom, dad and Mia talking and not paying attention to me. I quietly follow Kate to dad's study and stand behind the door. As luck would have it, the door is partially opened so I'm able to hear the one-sided conversation.

"OMG! You did? Finally! Was it good? Did you cum?" I guess Ana told her about us being intimate.

"Why did you do that, Ana?" I hear Kate ask with frustration in her voice.

"Well, it's obvious he likes you."

"So, what?"

I hear Kate let out a big, frustrated sigh.

"I'm your BFF so I'm going to tell you like it is. Stop acting stupid. You've been lamenting for years about not being in a relationship. You meet someone, and believe me, everyone can see the chemistry between you two, you finally pop that cherry and basically kick him out of the apartment? So, what you only met him two days ago. I love you, girl, but you need to grow up. There isn't a formula. If you're lucky enough to meet someone, who cares if you met him two days ago or two years ago," she says. I guess it's Ana's turn to talk now.

"So the fuck what? I don't understand what being from Montesano has to do with it," she says. She stays silent for a while.

"I gotta go before they come looking for me but when I get home tonight, you and I are going to have a chat and I'm going to give you a reality check. Stop being stubborn. He likes you. You like him. Go with it. That's it. You're making it more complicated than it needs to be, Steele. Love you," she says and ends the call. I turn around in an attempt to run back to the kitchen and nearly collide with Elliot.

"Nosy bastard," he says. I flip him off and go to the kitchen.

Maybe Kate is not so bad after all. It sounds like she wants Ana to at least give me the time of day. I wonder what she meant about the Montesano comment. What the fuck does being from Montesano have to do with it. It's not like she's from Mars.

Just as I'm about to say goodnight I get a call from Ros. She just got some information that a tech company we've been eyeing has suddenly become available. The owner wanted a meeting first thing on Tuesday so Ros and I plan to fly out to Boston midday on Monday. Since I had so much to drink, I had texted Sawyer about an hour ago to come pick me up.

At home that night, I do my research on the tech company, pack a bag for Boston, think of Ana, get into bed, fall into a restful sleep and dream of clear, blue eyes and silky soft skin. Unfortunately, the nightmares soon followed.

I arrived at work around 6 am Monday morning, before anyone else arrived. I know the daycare doesn't open until 7 so I don't expect the staff to be there before 6:30. I glance in the center's direction on the way to the elevator but it's completely dark.

I spend the next 4 hours responding to meeting and looking at spreadsheets. I let Ros know that our flight is scheduled to leave at 1, so we have to leave for Sea-Tac around noon. Of course she complains about how I'm interrupting her lunch time. I swear the woman just likes to piss me the fuck off. I abruptly tell her to have her ass in my office at 11:50 so we can ride together.

We spend the next 2 days in Boston in meetings and negotiations. My team of lawyers arrive on Monday to go over the contracts. We are due to meet with GEH finance within the next week before I make a final decision on the sale. I don't arrive back in Seattle until around 11 am on Friday. I'm exhausted from the meetings in Boston and my inability to get a good night's sleep certainly doesn't help. I should go home and try to rest, but after Taylor drops Ros off at home, I tell him to take me to the office. The minute we step back in the lobby, I look down the hall and see the light is on in the daycare. I see Ana at the front desk, talking on the phone. I can't hear what she's saying, but she's smiling and my world just stops. Like a complete idiot, I just stand there and stare. Taylor stands with me and when he not so discretely cleared his throat, I'm brought back to reality. Without saying a word to him, I walk to the elevator and get in. I see him try to hide a smile as we ride up to the 20th floor.

I need to get this damn woman out of my mind.

ANA

How could I have ruined things so quickly? I always ruin things. Good job, Steele. I haven't seen or heard from Christian since the night he stormed out of my apartment. I thought I had made the right decision at the time but after speaking with Kate, I'm not so sure.

I sit down on the chair at the front desk of Little Tots and sigh, covering my face with both hands. I think back to the conversation I had with Kate when she came home Sunday night. I shake my head at the memory of how annoyed she was with me that evening.

After Christian left that night, I was convinced that it was the best thing for us to slow things down and not rush. After all, Carla rushed into things with Morton and look at how that turned out. I'm not against seeing him again, but I don't feel there is a need for me to go to his family's house for dinner. Ray and Carla are supposed to spend the weekend with me in two weeks. Will he be expecting me to introduce him to them? Having so little experience with the dating world, I'm not sure about how this is all supposed to work out. I'm letting my overly cautious nature take over.

I cringe at my own hypocrisy. Where was this cautious nature when I fucked a guy one day after meeting him? Where was it when he ripped my panties off and put his head between my legs? Where was it when he sucked and bit my nipples, or when I took his huge cock all the way to the back of my throat? I need to change my train of thoughts. The last thing I need are wet panties when working at a damn daycare.

"Steele," she had yelled out when she walked through the door that Sunday. "Get your ass out here!"

I walked out, looking a mess. My hair was in a messy ponytail and I had on my robe since I just got back from the gym and I was about to hop in the shower.

"Right here," I say.

We spent the evening talking and I came clean with her about my insecurities about being with someone like him.

"I do like him," I began, "but I just don't fit into his world, Kate. The Greys are Seattle's elite and that's just not who I am."

"So, you don't want to see him again?" She asked.

"I do, but I'm not sure about how this will go. I'm worried that when they learn more about me, they won't be so welcoming." I spend the next 30 minutes telling her about how Stephen Morton and his family's treatment of me and my mom really affected me.

"Stephen and his family were shitty people, Ana, but guess what? They would have been shitty people even if they weren't affluent. They are just assholes. It's unfair of you to put that on Christian and his family. From what I've seen of his family, they are a warm, welcoming family. Christian seems to be into you and despite what you say, I know you're really into him too. Don't over think it. Just keep on seeing each other and see where it goes. Would you be so conflicted if he wasn't a mogul?"

"No. It would be so much easier if he had a regular job like a normal twenty something. Besides, I slept with him a day after we met."

"But that's unfair, Steele. You're discriminating against him because he's rich. And not because of anything he's done. You're making him responsible for the Morton's awfut treatment of you and Carla, ad that's not fair. He had absolutely nothing to do with any of that. And as for sleeping with him so soon, so what? You both wanted to be together and you're a grown ass, sexy woman. So what if two consenting adults decided to have sex? Stop being so damn puritanical! Own it, Steele! Now, please call that man. He looked downright miserable tonight. And fair warning, Grace ordered me to give her your phone number."

"I don't have his phone number, Kate. I fucked someone without even having his phone number. That's fine about Grace. Her, I can handle."

"For fuck's sakes, Steele!" Kate yells. She grabs her phone and texts someone. I guess she texted Elliot because less than 1 minute later, she had Christian's number and put it in my phone.

That was Sunday and I haven't heard from him. Elliot not so casually mentioned that Christian had to make a last minute trip to Boston for work but he was scheduled to be back today around lunch time. I must have grabbed my phone to call him a million times, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm not sure what I'm going to say to him, but I think I need to do it face to face. I wonder if he's back already. I'll text Elliot and see if he knows.

CHRISTIAN

I can't get this damn woman out of my mind. I've been sitting at my desk for the past 2 hours just staring at my computer screen. I haven't done a damn thing since I got here. At least when I was in Boston, I had meetings and had to be on top of my game. Now that I'm here and I know she's in the building, I can't seem to function.

I have to have a plan. I'm Christian fucking Grey. I'm not just going to sit here with my dick in my hands and wait for shit to happen. I make shit happen! For the first time since I got here, I form a plan. I call Barney and asked him to find out what times Ana has used her ID to access the GEH garage. He says that she's been leaving between 6:30 and 6:45 every evening.

Then I call Taylor and tell him to disable that piece of shit car she has. That car is such a pile of junk that no one can be surprised if it suddenly doesn't start. I'll be sure to coincidentally be in the garage at the same time that her car won't start. Me being the gentleman that Grace raised me to be will conveniently offer her a ride home. I don't have a plan beyond that, but hopefully the evening will end with me ripping her panties to shreds again. Maybe I should contact my personal shopper and put in an order of panties for Ana.

I look at the clock and see it's almost three. I have a meeting at 3 with Elizabeth Bealle. Elizabeth recently became a partner in her father's law firm. We just settled a law suit brought on by an injured employee in one of our warehouses. Elizabeth is bringing me some paper work to sign in order to release the funds to the former employee.

Before her father decided to lower is case load, I dealt primarily with him but now he's giving Elizabeth more responsibility at the firm. I guess she would be considered attractive, but she's not my type. She's a leggy blonde who tans way too much. I prefer petite brunettes, with powder blue eyes, pale skin and freckles across the bridge of her nose. Elizabeth has been nothing but professional in her interactions with me. Unlike most women, she hasn't openly flirted or fucked me with her eyes. I appreciate that.

My phone buzzed and it's Elliot. Being so happy that we're back in a place where he can just call me out of the blue, I pick up immediately. I still have a few minutes before my 3 pm appointment.

ANA

Elliot texted and said that Christian is already back and in his office. It's about 3:30 and I'm due for a break. I call Hannah, the co-director, and tell her I'm going to step out for a few minutes. Things are quiet at the moment with the kids just starting to wake up from their afternoon naps.

I take a deep breath, square my shoulders and get in the elevator to go up to the 20th floor. I didn't call first. I'm just going to show up and apologize for my behavior on Sunday and ask that we start over. Kate is right. We are two consenting adults and we both made the decision to have sex.

The sex was incredible and if I'm honest with myself, I've been thinking about it all week. I'm going to explode if this man doesn't screw me again soon. I'm about two flirty looks away from jumping him in his office. I wonder if he has a couch in there. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

I'm greeted by a perfectly coifed blonde by the name of Andrea Parker. She tells me that Mr. Grey with in a meeting and that I can't just show up and expect to be let into his office unless I have an appointment. I'm about to leave in defeat until I see the door opens and some blonde bimbo walks out.

"Thank you for your time, Mr. Grey," she says. "This is the last thing we'll need in order to completely resolve this issue. Once the judge signs off on it, I'll send you a copy."

She turns around and shakes his hand. She holds on to it a little bit too long for my liking.

I'm ready to go over there and yank their hands apart. I intend to do just that as I start walking towards his office.

"Ms. Steele," Andrea says, running after me. "Please schedule an appointment if you want to see Mr. Grey. I already told you that you can't just walk in there."

Finally, Christian looks up from Blondie and sees me. I see his eyes light up immediately.

"It's ok, Andrea. I have a few minutes to see Ms. Steele."

Andrea looks at me in shock.

"Please go ahead, Ms. Steele," she says.

Blondie finally gets the message and walks to the elevator. I give her one last, angry look.

Christian is standing inside his office and I walk in, slamming the door a bit harder than I intended.

CHRISTIAN

I can't believe my eyes. Ana is here in my office. Well, well, well. I wonder what she has to say for herself.

She rudely slams my door and turns to face me. She looks at me with fury. What the hell is she mad about? I'm the one who should be upset. I stand there and cross my arms, waiting for her to speak. My day just got interesting.

She walks up to me and points her index finger at my chest.

"Who the hell was that?" She asks, angrily.

Oh, this is going to be fun.

"Elizabeth Bealle," I say.

"What was she doing here?"

"She was here on an official capacity."

"Official? Official slutty capacity?"

"Excuse me?" I ask. What the hell is this woman talking about? She's actually standing here in my office in a jealous rage. Yes!

"I saw the way she held on to your hand. Are you interested in her? A few days ago, you were begging me to have dinner with your family and now you're holding hands with some bimbo?"

"First of all, I never begged. I'm going to give you the advice you once gave me. Get over yourself. Second, Ms. Bealle is a well respected attorney and she was here with papers for me to sign. Not that I owe you an explanation. Now, what are you doing here? Isn't too soon for you to be in my office? I'm sure there's a timetable for that," I say. And for good measure, I turn my back on her and go to look out the window.

Take that, baby!

She's even angrier now. Boy, she's sexy when she's angry.

"I came up here to talk about last Sunday with you, to tell you I was wrong in how I reacted, but if you're going to be a jerk, forget it! Maybe Blondie will be available to have dinner with you this Sunday. Maybe your mom can tell her what you ate for lunch on the first day of school in the fifth grade!"

I can't help it. I turn around, walk up to her and laugh in her face.

"You're jealous of Elizabeth? You're quite the surprise, Ms. Steele."

"In your dreams, jerk!"

She turns around and starts to storm towards the door. Just as she reaches the knob, I reach her and slam my hand on the door, preventing her from opening it. I grab her shoulder and force her to turn around and face me.

"Let me out of here."

I press my body into hers. She's now stuck between me and the door. I can feel her nipples harden when our bodies touch. My dick hardens instantly. I let go of the door and quickly grab both of her hands, holding them above her head.

"I don't think you want to get out of here. After all, you came all the way up here to see me. I must say, your jealousy is the highlight of my week. I knew you had passion, but I never guessed you would be so territorial, Ms. Steele."

I lean down and whisper in her ear.

"I bet if I put my hands in your panties, they would be soaking wet."

"How dare you. People like you always have an over inflated ego," she says but the anger is gone. Now all I see in her eyes is want. She starts to say something else but I cover my mouth with hers. She opens her mouth and kisses me back with such fire, such passion.

Just like before, she jumps into my arms, wrapping her legs around me. I quickly lock the door and walk her to my couch. I lay her down, yank her pants and panties off in one swoop. My hand touches her moist, wet heat.

"Just like I thought. Wet, just for me."

"Stop all that damn talking. You have too much clothes on," she says as she reaches for my belt.

 **I'm sorry this chapter is so late, but I was so unhappy with the last chapter, I was just going to give up on this story. I decided that wasn't fair to the people who have showed so much support, so I'm going to finish it. Ana gave me whiplash in this chapter. From here on out, it's all fluff. I think she's done being indecisive, thanks to her talk with Kate.**

 **I hope to have the next chapter by Sunday.**

 **Sorry for any mistakes. I have no beta.**


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

All credit to ELJ

I'm going to have a very busy weekend so I decided to update early. I'll try to have chapter 9 soon. Enjoy!

ANA

"I can think of way more interesting things for you to do with that mouth," I say as I pull off his belt, unbutton his pants and pull them down. He kicks them off and starts to take off his boxers.

"Allow me," and before he can stop me, I pull them all the way down. In his haste, he kicks the boxers clear across the room. I'm sitting on the couch and with him standing over me, his dick is right in front of my face. I stick my tongue out and slowly lick the tip. He hisses and throws his head back. I would take it completely into my mouth, but I only have a few minutes until I have to head back downstairs and I need to feel him inside of me.

"I have to go back downstairs soon. We have to hurry," I pant. I quickly pull my shirt over my head and throw my bra on the floor. I lay naked on my back on the couch and spread my legs open for him.

He takes his hand and puts it in my throbbing core. He fingers me and strokes my clit with his thumb. I nearly come apart right there from just his touch. I hear myself moaning loudly. I reach up for him and he lays on top of me. I open my legs wider and he puts the tip of his dick at my entrance but then pulls it away.

"God, baby. We can't. I don't have any condoms up here."

"I'm on the pill," I say. "You know I'm clean. Are you?"

"I'm clean. You were the first person I've been with in about 9 months and I got tested six months ago. How long have you been on the pill?"

"I've been on it since I was sixteen. I needed it to regulate my cycle. Enough talk," I say and cover my mouth with his, pushing my tongue into his mouth. He groans, and our tongues fight a battle of wills.

He pushes my legs apart and repositions himself at my opening. Without any further warning, he quickly enters me. Unlike the first time we did this, he didn't give me any time to get used to him being inside me. He immediately began thrusting inside of me. In and out, in and out. Over and over again, he gives the longest, deepest, most measured strokes. He fills me completely and the more he thrusts, the wetter I become. The more he thrusts, the louder my moans get. I hear him moan too and call my name. In the back of my mind, I worry about Andrea hearing us. I think in an effort to stop the noise from our love making, I kiss him again, deeper this time. It's a wet, sloppy kiss full of tongue and saliva. It's the type of kiss you have when you're just lost in the pleasure that your lover is giving you. It doesn't stop our moaning, it just muffles it.

"I'm so close, baby," I hear him say. Just then my orgasm hits. I scream and yell out his name as my body shudders and shivers in pleasure. He's right behind me as he thrusts one final time and collapses on top of me, his face buried in the crook of my neck.

I feel his full weight on top of me as I lay there panting, trying to come back down to earth. As good as our first time was, this time far surpassed that. What a difference not using a condom made. Now I know what all the fuss is about. I think my toes curled and my eyes rolled to the back of my head.

"Are you ok?" he asks.

"Yeah, that was incredible," I pant.

He kisses the top of my nose and then gives me a slow kiss on the lips.

"You're incredible," he says as he gets up and retrieves our clothes.

"The bathroom is right over here if you want to clean up," he says as he hands me my clothes.

I run to the bathroom and quickly wash up and dress. I find a brush and quickly run it through my hair. I step back into the room, feeling shy and unsure of myself again.

He comes up to me, grabs my shin and forces me to meet his eyes.

"Don't hide from me again. We both wanted this and I don't regret it. In fact, I want to keep you here with me all afternoon and make love to you over and over again," he says without breaking eye contact.

I blush and lower my eyes again, unsure of what to say.

I finally find my tongue.

"Well, that would be the highlight of your day, wouldn't it, sir? Unfortunately for you, I have to head back down to work. I don't know if you know, but my boss can be a real tyrant," I say.

"Yeah, I've definitely heard that and worse about Ros," he says and smiles, breaking all the tension.

I start to giggle and soon that turns into a full laugh. He joins me and the room is suddenly filled with our laughter. He grabs me and pulls me into his arms. I wrap my arms around him as we stand there, smiling and gazing into each other's eyes. He leans down and kisses me on the top of my head.

"Come home with me tonight," he says. "My housekeeper will have dinner for us. We can eat, talk and have dessert," he says wiggles his brows.

I decide right then and there that I'm going to take Kate's advice and go for it. I'm attracted to this man and I'm willing to see where this goes.

"Ok," I say.

"Really?" He asks in surprise. I simply nod and he hugs me even tighter.

"I'll need to go home and change first, but I can come over around 7:30," I grab a piece of paper on his desk and write down my phone number.

"Text me your address. Now, I have to run. I can't believe we just did that. Do you think your secretary heard us? Oh my god, how embarrassing," I say as I cover my face with my hands.

He pulls my hands down and kisses me on the lips. I kiss him back and the kiss, innocent at first, starts to get passionate. I put my hands in his hair and get on the tips of my toes so that I can deepen the kiss even more. I take my hands out of his hair, and grabs his tight butt, pushing myself into his erection. Just as he starts to moan, I break the kiss.

"Stop that!" I say.

"Me? You're the one who grabbed my ass!"

"Well it's your own damn fault for having such a nice ass," I say back. "I gotta go before they send a search party. I'll see you tonight." I give him one last chaste kiss.

"The office is sound proof. Andrea can't hear us. I'll see you at 7:30. Don't be late," he says and slaps me hard on the ass as I'm walking towards the door. I lose my step and turn around in shock only to find him grinning at me.

"You'll pay for that tonight," I say.

"I look forward to it, Ms. Steele," he says as he opens the door for me. I eye his secretary and see her watching me. She says nothing, but I can see the questions turning in her head. I say nothing as I press the down button for the elevator. Thankfully, it opens right away and I step in. I see Christian is still at the door watching me. Andrea looks from him to me and back to him. I know the exact moment when she puts two and two together. I see Christian wave to me as the elevator door closes.

CHRISTIAN

I know Andrea is just dying to know what's going on but she knows better than to question me. I don't ask her about her personal life, and she damn well better not ask me about mine. I've always kept all of my staff at a distance. All of them except Ros, who has no damn boundaries.

I close my door and throw my fist up in the air in victory. Less than an hour ago, I had no idea about how I was going to get back in Ana's good graces. I was a complete asshole for how I reacted on Sunday when she refused to join me for dinner with my family. After a passionate afternoon, I felt rejected and didn't know how to handle that feeling, so I lashed out. I need to apologize to her for that, but I won't have her running and hiding from me either.

What just happened in this office, on this very couch that I'm now sitting on, is by far the most intense and fulfilling sexual experience I've had, and it's a first in my office. This couch is now my favorite piece of furniture ever!

Ana was the last person I expected to see outside of my office when I opened the door to let Elizabeth out. And then she slams my door in a jealous rage is about the sexiest fucking thing I've ever seen. For an itty bitty thing, she sure is full of fire. Who knew she had all that jealous rage simmering? I have to say, I loved every second of her little tantrum. That tantrum did lead us to practically ripping each other's clothes off, after all.

I lay on my back, in the very spot where Ana gave me her body for the second time. I can still smell her sweet scent. I close my eyes and think of all the things we can do tonight when she gets to my apartment. Today is Friday, so we can take our time and explore each other's bodies. For someone who was a virgin just last week, she sure is responsive.

OH, shit! I just remembered that I told Taylor to disable the car. I run to my desk and dial Taylor's number. He answers on the second ring.

"Taylor, did you already take care of that thing we talked about?" I asked. I hope he hasn't done it yet. It would work more in my favor if he disables it while it's parked at Escala. That way I can use that to get Ana to spend the night.

"Already done, sir," he says. Damn! He's too damn efficient for his own good.

Back to the original plan. I'll just coincidentally be in the garage to offer her a ride when her car won't start.

"Sir, I wasn't able to get under the hood since there are so many people coming in and out of the garage, but I did let the air out of two of her tires. I'll return to the garage after hours to truly disable it," he says. Who knew Taylor was so diabolical.

"Very good, Taylor."

"Barney will text me as soon as she accesses the garage with her ID."

"Great. Just let me know when that happens and we'll head downstairs," I say and hang up the phone with Taylor and text Ana my address.

I have about two and a half more hours until she'll be in my company again.

ANA

The last infant leaves right around 6:00. I head back into my office to answer a few emails and shut down my computer for the night. I say good night to Hannah and the last few of the staff, and wish them a good weekend.

I think back to what just happened a few hours ago on the 20th floor and I can feel my cheeks redden. I went up there to talk, but never in my wildest dreams did I think that we would end up naked and writhing on the couch with him buried inside of me. I squeeze my thighs together at the thought.

I admit that I was so turned on when he held my hands above my head and pressed his body into mine. I felt the moisture in my panties immediately. The heat between my thighs only got more intense when the kissing started, and when he entered me, it felt as if I was finally complete.

It's just shy of 6:30 when I head to the garage. I approach my car and just as I'm about to unlock the door, I look down and see both tires on the driver's side are completely flat.

"Oh, fuck," I say to myself. I'll have to have this heap of junk towed. I'll never make it at home and to Christian's by 7:30. Just as I'm pulling out my cell phone out of my purse, I hear foot steps behind me. I turn around and see Christian and his bodyguard approaching my car. I find that strange since his fancy car has its own spot on the other side of the garage. I'm too annoyed and distracted by my flat tires to think about why they're here.

"Everything ok, Ana?" Christian asks.

"My stupid tires are flat," I say petulantly. "I'm about to call AAA to tow me out of here."

I grab his sleeve and pull him away from the bodyguard.

"I'll be later than 7:30," I whisper so bodyguard won't hear.

"Why are we whispering?" He whispers back.

"Because I don't want him to hear me," I whisper again.

He leans down and starts whispering in my ear, making my nipples harden immediately.

"But he already knows you're coming over," he says and licks my earlobes ever so slowly.

"Mmmm," is all I manage to say. I look behind him and see Mr. Bodyguard watching us like a damn voyeur.

"That's not odd at all," I say to myself and walk back the car.

"You don't have to call AAA. You can ride with me."

My eyes grow wide and I look around the garage to see if anyone else besides Mr. Bodyguard is watching.

"But then people will know we rode together,"

"I gave you one hell of a ride in my office a few hours ago."

I blush instantly and look to make sure that Mr. Bodyguard didn't hear us. He must have because I see his eyebrows raise in surprise and just the slightest hint of a smile.

"Shut up! You don't have to announce it to the world."

"The world? There is no one else here, but people will definitely see if you don't hurry up and get in the damn car," he says.

"Fine. Lead the way," I finally say in defeat. I'll deal with the car later. It might be time for me to finally invest in a newer car. As sentimental as Wanda is, it's getting more and more unreliable. Now that I'm making a good income, I can more than afford a car payment. We walk across the garage and get inside a fancy Audi. Thankfully the windows are tinted because we drive past several employees as we begin to exit the garage.

Before I can do it myself, he reaches over and buckles my seat belt. I guess that time in Elliot's car wasn't a one time thing.

"You're looking beautiful," he says.

I'm caught off guard and since I'm not used to such compliments, I look down and avoid eye contact.

He reaches over and grabs my hand.

"It's true. You're so beautiful. Don't shy away from that."

"I'm just not used to people saying things like that to me."

"Well, get used to it." He kisses my hand and puts it down.

I clear my throat and ask Mr. Bodyguard to take me home first.

"I thought you were coming home with me?" He asks in an accusatory tone.

"I need to go home, shower and change first. I still have on the sex panties," I whisper and he laughs.

CHRISTIAN

The sex panties? This woman is just too adorable for words. I won't mention that I plan on ripping apart every pair of panties she owns.

I smile at her and wink. I grab her hand again and we hold hands while Taylor drives us to her apartment. Unfortunately, Ros calls me and I have to take the call. When we arrive, all three of us gets out and go into her apartment. She doesn't say anything but I can see the surprised look on her face when Taylor takes the keys from her, opens the door and does a quick scan of the place before he lets us in. Thankfully I'm still on the phone with Ros and don't have to explain. For some reason the whole bodyguard thing bothers her. Why would a six foot five giant with a buzz cut be an issue, I ask myself.

Fucking Ros continues to drone on and on about a meeting we have coming up next week. Maybe she missed the memo that it's Friday night and some of us have lives.

After about fifteen minutes, I see Ana walk back out wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a tight, beige sweater that hugs her curves. I continue to stare at her as she reaches into her coat closet to search for a jacket.

"Are you done, Ros? It's Friday night. Don't you have shit to do?" I ask.

"Well excuse the fuck out of me. Since when do you have plans on a Friday night? Are you finally going to get laid tonight? I hope so. Maybe that will improve your mood come Monday morning."

"That's the plan, Ros. Have a great weekend," I say and hang up on her ass before she can say anything back.

"Let's go, Ms. Steele."

We all get back in the car and Taylor drives us to Escala. He takes the hint and takes the service elevator. We get in the elevator and go straight to the penthouse. Thankfully the ride was fast because I was ready to take her right in the elevator. There seemed to be a strong charge in that small space.

The minute we get into the apartment, I grab her, lift her up and carry her over to the breakfast bar. I attack her mouth with mine and she wraps her legs around me. I only stop when I hear someone clear their throats. I turn around and see Mrs. Jones standing behind me.

"Mrs. Jones, I thought you had left for the weekend," I say to her. I take a few seconds to get my body under control and to get my dick to go down.

"My sister went away with her husband this weekend, sir. I'll be sticking around here for the next few days," she says.

"Well, Mrs. Jones, this is Anastasia Steele. Ana, this is my housekeeper, Mrs. Jones."

Ana and Gail shake hands and exchange pleasantries. I see Gail looking from Ana to me and smiling broadly. She offers to set the table for us. As she does that, I take Ana's hand and offer her a tour of the penthouse.

"You live here alone? Wow! This place is gorgeous," she says as I show her the "balls room", the TV room, my office and the guest rooms. I finally show her my bedroom, the only room in the house with some color on the walls. The rest of the apartment is painted beige, with minimal décor. I let Mrs. Jones decorate the kitchen as she pleases, but she keeps it pretty neutral.

Ana twirls around in my room, and it makes me so happy to see her here.

"Your bedroom is bigger than the house I grew up in!" She says. I don't know how to respond to that. It's obvious that she's uncomfortable with my wealth, but I'm wealthy and won't apologize for that. I worked very hard to start my business. I wasn't handed GEH on a platter. I didn't inherit it. I built it from the ground up and I'm proud of that. Hopefully with time, Ana can get over this hurdle.

"Oh, I forgot about one more room," I say as I grab her hand and take her out of the bedroom. We walk down the hall to my home library.

"Oh, my goodness," she says. "You have a library here? I love this room. I would never leave this place if I lived here."

"You like it?"

"I love it. Much to Kate's annoyance, I spend most of my free time reading. I majored in literature WSU. I'm planning on writing a book. Hopefully it will be a series of children's books, but point is, books are my life," she says as she examines the books on the shelf.

She grabs one and sits on one of the leather couches and starts to flip through my original copy of Tess of D'ubervilles.

"This is the best book in the history of the world," she says with glee. I see how her eyes sparkle as she looks around the library one more time. I approach her and bend down for a kiss. Just as our lips are about to meet, I hear her stomach's rather loud grumble.

She laughs in embarrassment.

"Let's eat, Ms. Steele. I can't have you starving."

She closes the little space there was between us and looks up at me with her giant, blue eyes.

"I'd rather kiss," she says shyly, sweetly.

"There will be plenty of time for that later," I say grabbing her hand and leading her back to the kitchen. Mrs. Jones, instead of setting the breakfast bar, she sets two place settings in the dining room, complete with candles and a gorgeous, pink roses. I have to remember to give her a raise.

I pull out her chair, pour her a glass of chardonnay, and we enjoy a delicious dinner of baked chicken and roasted potatoes, and cheesecake for dessert. I'm happy to see that Ana has quite the appetite.

"That was delicious," she says. "Your housekeeper is a great cook."

"Yes, she is." I go over and pull the chair out so she can get up. I spin her around and hold her in my arms, smelling her hair. She smells of apples and honey and home.

"Now, what?" She asks.

"I just want to enjoy having you here. I was expecting you to put up a fight when I asked you to come here tonight. I'm glad you didn't," I say. We walk back to the living room and I turn on some music. Bruno Mars starts to sing Just The Way You Are. I pull her back in my arms and we start to sway to the music. I pull her closer as we dance, our bodies connected in perfect rhythm. I feel her pull back a little bit and look up at me.

"You're certainly not what I expected," she says.

"And you were certainly unexpected," I say back. "But what did you expect?" Now I'm curious.

"I don't know but never in a million years did I expect to be here having dinner and dancing with you."

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me, too," she says as she lays her head on my chest. Thankfully with the help of the touch specialist, I don't freak out. I just let her lay there and enjoy the closeness. If I believed in fate, I'd think that that my family finding out about Elena paved the way for this exact moment. Had that never happened, I might have just gone back to the status quo and have a contract with another submissive, I wouldn't have bothered showing up for the grand opening of the daycare regardless of Ros' threats, and it probably would have been months or longer before me and Ana would cross paths. I shudder at the thought of not having this incredible creature in my arms.

The song ends, and I lower my head and kiss her. The kiss starts of gentle, but it soon turns into a needy desperate kiss. I don't know how long it lasts, but my heart is beating out of my chest and my dick is as hard as granite by the time we both come up for air. I rest my forehead on hers.

"I want you, Ana. I want to carry you back to my bedroom, undress you and take my time exploring your body. We have all night."

"Ok."

I don't give her another second to think and possibly reconsider. I pick her up bridal style and take her to my room. I close the door and dim the lights. I lay her on the bed and slowly remove her clothes. I pull the sweater over her head. Next is the bra. I cup her breasts in my hands and pinch her nipples. She lets out a soft gasp, and her nipples harden. I want so badly to suck on those nipples, but I don't. We have all night for that, but right now, I want her completely naked.

I pull off her shoes and skinny jeans, and just to shock her, I rip her panties and toss them to the ground. She looks at me in surprise and I simply smile. I kiss my way back up. I kiss her legs, lay one gentle kiss on top of her sex. She attempts to hold my head there, but I move her hand and continue to kiss my way up. My girl sure likes to have her kitty licked. I kiss her flat stomach and I finally grab one of her nipples with my teeth. She puts her hands in my hair while I suck. She arches her back off the bed, holding on to me for balance.

I get on my knees so that I can undress. She starts to help me by unbuttoning my shirt. I throw that to the side and take off my t-shirt. She unbuckles my belt and helps me to pull my pants and boxers down. I toss those to the other side of the bedroom in my haste to get undressed. I lay back on top of her, naked flesh to naked flesh. We start to kiss. My lips never leave each other as we touch. I feel her hands roam up and down my back, and instead of the panic, all I feel is warmth. Her touch gives me goosebumps. I don't think I'll ever be able to get enough.

I pinch her nipples again. I finally leave her mouth as I bite one nipple, then the other. Her hands find her way back in my hair as I continue to explore her body. I kiss her stomach again, and this time, instead of just lightly kissing her sex, I explore her folds with my hands, parting them. I lick her there, tasting her juices. I hear her moan and writhe on the bed, pulling on my hair as she does crazy. She smells and tastes divine. As good as she tastes, I want her to come with me inside of her. I can't wait to slide in her again after that quickie we had in my office, so I move up her body again and find her mouth. I put my tongue in her mouth so she can taste herself. I hear her moan as she opens her mouth wider and deepens the kiss.

She reaches down and grabs my dick, stroking the top with her thumb. I can feel my precum oozing out.

"I want to taste you, too," she whispers.

"We have all night for that. Right now I feel like I'm going to embarrass myself and come right now if I don't get inside of you soon." I position myself at her opening and slide inside.

"Oh, god," we both say in unison.

Neither one of us lasts long. As soon as I got inside of her, I begin to move fast. She reaches her climax after about two minutes, with me following close behind her. I roll off her as we both try to catch our breath.

I look at the clock and see it's only 5 am. Last night was a night filled with carnal pleasure. After our first love making session, I held Ana for a while as we just basked in the afterglow. After a while, she pushed me on my back and with no words or warnings, she went down on me and gave me what I can only describe as a professional style blowjob. I asked her where she learned to do that and she shrugged her shoulders and told me porn. We had a good laugh, but I only relaxed when she confirmed that I was the first guy she ever did that to.

After that performance, I had to return the favor and ate her out until she came in my mouth. Two hours later, Ana told me that she wanted to do it again with her on top. What's a gentleman to do? Of course, I got on my back and let her have her way with me. After that, we both must have fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion. I'm glad I can be the one to awaken her passion because my little nympho can't get enough.

It must have been well past midnight when we fell asleep. That means I had 5 straight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Even now, she's wrapped around me, her little hand on my chest, as my back is to her front. She's even thrown one of her legs over mine. This is heaven.

It's the perfect morning. It's a Saturday and we don't need to be anywhere. It's raining heavily outside. What a perfect day to just stay in bed and cuddle. I can't believe that thought just went through my head. Since when did I cuddle? I roll my eyes at myself, but there is nowhere else I'd rather be.

I gently roll out of bed to use the bathroom. When I get back, Ana is on her back still fast asleep, with her breasts exposed. I see she has a small mole on the side of one of her breasts. Her nipples are pink, like little raspberries. I study her face and she's so beautiful with long eyelashes and flawless skin. Those freckles across the bridge of her nose gives her a childlike innocence. Child my ass! That is a wild, wonton, sexy woman. I get back in the bed and this time, I wrap my arms around her like ivy and fall into a peaceful slumber.

When I wake up again it's well past nine. My mind is foggy and I think I must still be asleep and dreaming because that can't be my mother's voice I hear. I lay my head back down and cover my head with my pillow. Ana is back to being wrapped around me.

"Mrs. Grey," I think I hear Taylor say. "Please let me do my job and go announce you."

"Taylor, you don't need to announce me to my son. I tried calling his cell but he didn't answer. He's always been such an early riser. Is he sick?" No way in hell can my mom be here.

"He's definitely not sick, ma'am." I think I hear laughter in Taylor's voice.

"Well he must be because it's almost ten and he never stays in bed this long. Let me check on him."

"But Mrs. Grey…"

I know it's not a dream when my mother bursts through my bedroom door.

I look at Ana to make sure she's full covered and she is. She wakes up as my mother lets out a surprised scream when she sees me and Ana in the bed together.

"What's going on," Ana says. She catches on quick when she sees my mother standing there. She ducks under the covers and hides, leaving me to deal with Grace.

"Mom, why are you barging in here? Taylor!"

"I tried to keep her out sir, but she just wouldn't let me come find out," Taylor says.

"Oh, sweetheart! I had no idea you had company. Hi, Ana! I have a meeting with the Coping Together committee in about an hour and thought I'd have coffee with you but I can see you have more interesting things to do than to have coffee with your mother" Mom is very enthusiastic about this whole thing. She reaches over and tries to lift the sheets. I grab onto it, holding the sheets in place in order to prevent her from getting a peep show.

"What are you doing?" I snap.

"I just want to say hi to Ana. Ana, dear, it's ok. No need to be embarrassed," mom says grinning from ear to ear.

Ana pops her head from under the sheets and says hi.

"It's good to see you again, Ana. I hope to see you tomorrow for dinner. We really missed you last Sunday. I had a whole thing planned."

Ana, much to my surprise, accepts my mother's dinner invitation.

"I'd love to come tomorrow, Mrs. Grey."

"I told you Mrs. Grey is Cary's mother. It's Grace or any other name you might find suitable." She looks at me and winks. I roll my eyes and give her the thumbs up sign.

I hear Ana giggle.

She looks around the room and sees our discarded clothes.

"Oh, my goodness. You guys must be naked under there. Well pretend I was never here. Just go back to what you were doing. I can't wait to tell your father." Is this woman for real?

"Taylor, you shouldn't have let me in here. Now look at how you embarrassed these two kinds." Taylor just smirks, shakes his head and says nothing.

Mom still makes no moves to leave.

"Can we have some privacy, mom?"

"Of course. I'm just so happy. I'll see you tomorrow for dinner. Ana, take good care of my baby," she says before she finally leaves. Taylor mouths sorry as he closes the door. I let out a deep breath and slam my head on my pillow.

Ana's giggle turns into a full belly laugh. Her laughter I contagious and I join her. We both laugh until our eyes water and our sides hurt.

"Your mother has no boundaries," she says. "Good thing she didn't come in here last night when I was riding you like a cowgirl."

"Good thing, although she's probably take pictures so she can show the rest of the family," I say and we both laugh again.

"Now, about that riding thing you mentioned," I say as I roll onto my back and put her on top of me. "How about another performance?"

"With pleasure," she says as her lips find mine. All thoughts of Grace are forgotten.

W **ell that was chapter 8. I hope you enjoyed it. Next, they get to spend the day in post coital bliss, followed by Sunday dinner. Grace won't be the only one to walk in on them when all is said and done.**

 **I want to thank you guys so much for the reviews, comments and follows.**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

 **I own nothing. All credit to ELJ**

 **ANA**

"Ok, but only if you promise that we are going in there to shower only. My lady parts need a break from your…," I stop myself unable to say it.

"From my what?" He asks from across the room.

"Your one-eyed snake. Your Big Nasty," I say and we both chuckle.

"Big Nasty? I think I like that, Ms. Steele but you weren't saying about 30 minutes ago. You haven't been able to get enough of my one-eyed snake or Big Nasty since you came barging into my office yesterday afternoon. You, my sweet baby, are insatiable," he says as he picks up our clothes and throws them in the hamper in his closet.

I lay my head back on the bed and sigh in contentment. He's absolutely right. This has been the best day of my life. After his mother barged in on us this morning, I gave him another performance of my cowgirl show and he went crazy. I think he even said yee haw after I climbed off of him but I can't be sure. I have to look into buying a cowgirl hat and a lasso.

After giving the ride of his life, we laid down and spooned, with him holding me in his arms, and kissing my shoulders every few minutes. We fell asleep for another hour or so. When I woke up, I turned around to face him and found him to already be awake. We locked eyes for several minutes, not saying a word. He moved closer and kissed me slowly, longingly. Without speaking, he turned me around, putting my back to his front. He lifted my leg and touched with his fingers. After stroking me a few times, he lifted my leg higher and entered me with Big Nasty. He moved in and out of me, all the while holding on to one of my breasts. Our orgasms weren't rushed this time. There was no need to get there quickly. We took our time, basking in each other. By the time we both came, our bodies were slick with sweat.

I turn to face him again. Our eyes locked and he reached up to put a piece of hair behind my ear. He gives me a small, shy smile and I feel my heart burst with an unknown feeling. I feel so exposed under his stare.

"Tell me what happened to you," I say softly.

He knew exactly what I was asking because he simply started to speak. He started from the beginning and tells me about his drug addicted mother and pimp. He explained the scars on his chest and how he came to be adopted by the Greys. I had no idea that all three Grey siblings were adopted. He told me about all the fighting and trouble he got into as a teenager. I'm shocked to learn that this super successful man in front of me was expelled from several prestigious high schools to the disappointment of his parents. He goes on to tell me how when his parents became completely exasperated with him, a friend of theirs offered to help. This Elena Lincoln told the Greys that Christian could benefit from some manual labor and offered to have him do some work in her yard. The next day, he reported to her house and was clearing some debris from her yard. It was a hot day so he took off his shirt.

Elena offered him a glass of lemonade, after making a smart comment, she smacked him hard across the face and kissed him. That was the beginning of a 6 year BDSM relationship. He explained that at the time he thought it was a way for a hormone filled teenage boy with touch issues to get off with a woman. He admitted that he took the punishments as warranted. When they got too harsh, he changed his behavior. He stopped fighting, stopped drinking and became such a phenomenal student that he got into Harvard. His parents became proud of him, but a result of that was that he withdrew from the family. His relationship with Elliot suffered because every time Elliot made an effort to reach out to him, he would rebuff him.

After all the years of therapy with a doctor John Flynn, he thinks he rebuffed Elliot and withdrew from his family because he was ashamed. Not necessarily ashamed of the lifestyle, but how he got into the lifestyle, ashamed of lying to his family and sneaking around with someone who purported to be a friend to his mother.

He tells me how proud his parents were when he got into Harvard, and how disappointed they were when he dropped out. By that time, he had ended his sexual relationship with Elena. When he went to Grace and Carrick with his business plans and asked his parents to invest, Carrick flat out refused. He thinks Grace was open to the idea, but she supported her husband and refused to give him any money. He felt he had no one to turn to so when Elena reached out to him, he told her what was going on and she offered to lend him one hundred thousand dollars to start GEH.

GEH became a success and he paid back Elena with interest. He tells me about how he invested in her salon business in order to return the favor. I'm appalled to learn how the Greys found about the affair. I guess this shrew completely lost her mind and talked about their affair at his birthday party. She probably was desperate to hold on to him since he was losing interest in the arrangement where she would supply him with subs.

"After Grace overheard, I confessed everything to the family. It was quite an evening, Ana. Grace turned into Rocky Balboa and beat the shit out of Elena. Mia even got in a slap. Mom and dad were horrified that they let someone like that into our lives. Mom was so upset and blamed herself for confiding in Elena about my issues. She said if she hadn't talked about my problems, Elena wouldn't have gotten her hooks into me. I told her not to blame herself and that I was a horny kid who saw a way to get laid and I took it. I know better than that, though. She abused me. It took me years of therapy to admit it to myself and even longer to say the words out loud. The good part about all this is that we've had therapy as a family. We've learned ways on how to deal with this and how to talk about it. The most important thing is that we don't hide from what happened. The only one who didn't do the family therapy sessions was Elliot but we have worked out our issues. He blamed himself too and he was mad at me for not confiding in him. That's why he was acting like such an ass these past few months. All of that came to a head that night we went to Fifty's. I was so mortified that you heard that because I was trying my best to get you to like me. I thought Elliot blew it for me."

"I would never not like you for that. I don't know much about BDSM, but I know it's a lifestyle people choose and that it's consensual. What that bitch did to you, though, is not consensual. I think you're incredible to have dealt with this stuff so well. Most people wouldn't know how to handle having so much thrown at them, but you fought your way through it. You invested in your mental health, you came clean with your family, you're making amends for all those years of pulling away. You're amazing. That bitch, Elena, better hope we never cross paths. What Grace did to her is nothing compared to what I'd do."

He smiles when I said that.

"You'd fight for me, Ms. Steele?" He asked playfully.

"I'd do more than that, Mr. Grey?" I lean over to kiss him but my stomach interrupts us again with a loud growl.

"Let's shower so I can feed you. It's past noon and we need to eat after so much activity," he said as he got out of bed.

I see him grab his phone and text something. I hop out of the bed, completely naked, and walk towards the adjacent bathroom. I can feel where he's been all night as I limp my way into the bathroom.

"Stop looking so pleased with yourself," I say when I see the satisfied look on his face.

"I love knowing that I'm responsible for that limp of yours, Ms. Steele. Big Nasty has done his job," he says as he locks the bathroom door and starts the shower. I need to pee so I'm thankful that the toilet is away from the shower and has a door. I go in and pee as quietly as I can before I get into the shower, where he's already waiting for me. I make no mention of how his shower is as big as my bedroom back in Montesano. For a minute, I let my insecurities take over. What the hell am I doing with a man like this? What happens when I go back home? Will he lose all interest now that he's had me over and over again? I can't hold on to a man like this for long. I'm in way over my head here.

He starts to wash my hair and I decide to let my insecurities go for the moment. He massages my scalp with the shampoo and rinses my hair. We take turns washing each other. I take the time to look at his body, and he is perfection. His shoulders are broad and muscular. His stomach is flat and he has a perfect six pack. I run my hands from his chest to his stomach over and over again. I look down and I see that Big Nasty is starting to wake up.

"If you don't want him to get going again, I suggest we rinse off and get out of here," he says huskily.

This man has some stamina!

We leave the shower and dry off with the most luxurious towels I've ever felt. These definitely are not from Kmart.

"Oh, damn. It just dawned on me that I don't have anything to wear. I don't even have underwear since you ripped my panties again. Maybe I can borrow one of your tee shirts and a pair of sweat pants," I say, assuming he owns any sweat pants. He seems way too fancy for something as simple as sweats. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

"I'm sure we can find you something. Come on," he says as he opens the door and we walk back into the bedroom. I'm shocked to see that the bed has been made and the sheets have been changed. That's not the biggest surprise, though. On top of the bed are several bags from Neiman Marcus.

No wonder he locked the door. His minions came in to clean up our sex sheets and deliver clothes. Is this how things work in his world? How is someone like myself supposed to get used to this?

He goes over to the bags and hands them to me.

"For you, Ms. Steele. I'm sure you'll feel more comfortable in clothes that actually fit you."

I look inside the bags and there are two pairs of jeans, several shirts, a pair of black slacks, 4 sets of panties and bras, and even two pairs of flats and a pair of stilettos. There's even a little black dress suitable for a night out at a club. I look around the bags looking for a receipt or price tags, but all of that has been removed.

"When did you arrange all of this?" I ask in surprise. He thought of everything.

"I have my ways. Do you like them?"

"I do. Everything is lovely, but I can't afford any of this. Neiman Marcus is way out of my price range."

He looks offended.

"It's a gift." He comes and stands in front of me. "I do owe you two pairs of panties, after all."

"You know you don't have to do things like this, right?"

"Things like what?"

"Buying me things. I don't need that. I can take care of myself."

He sighs.

"I know that, Ana, but you need something to wear right now so I asked Taylor and Mrs. Jones to go out and get you a few things. I want to take you out to get something to eat and I wanted you to be in something comfortable, not in a pair of my old sweat pants that are about ten sizes too big for you." He grabs my hands and looks down at me. "Please don't make it a big deal."

Not wanting to ruin what's been a perfect day, I decide not to make an issue out of it.

"Ok, I won't make it an issue, but I will pay you back."

He looks at me as if I've just grown a second head.

"You will do no such thing. You will never pay for anything at all. Look, I can afford it. Please stop being stubborn. Let's get dressed so we can go get something to eat," he says. He leans down and gives me a chaste kiss on the lips.

About 20 minutes later we walk out of Escala, hand in hand. The rain started coming down quite heavily again and Christian has a huge umbrella with the GEH logo on it covering us. The walk to the restaurant is only about 5 minutes but the heavy rain makes it a bit longer. The rain and wind picked up as we round the corner to the place so we make a run for it until we reach the door to Dish, a local restaurant that happens to serve breakfast all day.

He grabs my hand again we walk towards the hostess. The place is packed with people on this Saturday afternoon. I'm starving so I hope the wait isn't long. To my amazement, no words are spoken. The minute the hostess sees him, we are ushered to the back into a private dining room. I've actually been to this restaurant before with Kate and I never even knew they had private dining areas.

Our waiter gives us 2 menus and takes our drink orders before exiting the room. It's a pretty big room for just the two of us.

"Did you call ahead?" I ask,

"I don't need to. They know me here." Ok, then.

The waiter comes back with tea and water for me, and black coffee for Christian. I order French toast, bacon and scrambled eggs. Christian orders steak and eggs. He sees me eyeing his plate and he feeds me some of his steak.

"You're sitting too far away," he says.

"I'm sitting across from you."

"That's too far away." He pulls his chair from the table and pats his lap, indicating that I should come sit there. Is he serious? He must be because he's grinning at me. I look around the empty room. I grab my plate, go around the table, place my plate next to his and sit on his lap. I must admit, it feels pretty nice.

"That's much better," he says. "I like having you close." Me too, I think to myself. I feed him some of my French toast and drop some syrup on his chin. I become embolden as I decide to lick the syrup off of him instead of using the napkin.

"Don't wake up, Big Nasty," he moans. I giggle.

"I think it's already too late. I can already feel him."

The waiter comes back and refills our drinks. To his credit, he doesn't bat an eyelash about me sitting on Christian's lap. We continue to feed each other until every last morsel of food is gone.

He pulls out his wallet and leaves two one hundred-dollar bills on the table. We haven't even gotten the check yet, but I don't think our breakfast cost more than forty dollars.

"I wanted to buy you breakfast," I say with a pout.

"Are you trying to take away my man card? You'll never pay as long as I'm around. I don't even want you to pay when I'm not around, but we can discuss that another day," he says as he places a kiss on my forehead. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

When we step outside, the downpour hasn't let up one bit. We rush back to Escala and the warm, dry penthouse. I'm so grateful for the fireplace in his foyer as I stand in front of it to warm my hands. Christian comes and sits next to me.

"Oh, shit! I totally forgot about my car. I'm going to call an Uber to take me to my car so I can have it towed to a garage. Depending on what's wrong with it, I might need to just get rid of it and get something new," I say as I reach inside my purse to find my cell phone.

CHRISTIAN

Is this woman out of her damn mind? It's pouring rain outside and it's already after 2 pm. If she thinks I'm going to let her walk out of here and get in some stranger's car to go into a dark garage, she has another thing coming.

"Baby, it's pouring rain outside. Just leave the car there until Monday and we can figure it out then," I take her hand and kiss it. One thing I've learned about Ana is that she doesn't take well to being ordered around. I'll have to be gentle with her. Make her think things are her idea.

She looks out the window and luckily for me, lightening just struck.

"Are you sure it will be ok there all weekend?"

"I guarantee it."

"Ok. I don't want to deal with all of this in a downpour, but I should still get going. What time should I be ready for dinner tomorrow?"

Why does she want to leave? I nuzzle her neck and kiss her behind the ear. I know how much she likes that.

"Why do you want to leave?"

"I don't want to overstay my welcome."

"That would be impossible. Stay with me for the weekend. Please," I say with a fake pout. I bend down and kiss her deeply, not giving her time to think of a reason to say no. "We can leave from here to go to dinner and if you want, I can drop you home afterwards. You can always come back here and we can go to work together on Monday." I give her another kiss behind her ear.

"Um, god, that feels good. Stop doing that so I can think," she says as I lick the shell of her ear.

"Ok. I'll stay." Success!

I hear my phone ring and see it's Elliot calling.

"Let me take this, baby." I'm so happy that me and Elliot are at a place where he can just call me out of the blue, and I'm grateful to have reached a place where I'm happy to take his calls instead of just being annoyed by them.

"Hey, El," I say.

"What's up, asshole," I roll my eyes. Classy as always. "Put me on speaker. I know Ana's there." I do as he asks.

"You're on speaker."

"Banana, is my brother boring you to death yet?"

"Quite the opposite, El."

"Hey, Ana," Kate says.

"Hey!"

"We called to see if you two wanted to go to the Mile High Club tonight. We've been cooped up inside all day and we want to get out. Besides, I'm sure Ana wants to go out and be with some interesting people," Elliot says.

"You wanna go, baby? It might be fun despite having Elliot there," I say to Ana.

I hear a high pitched shriek on the phone.

"El, did he just all her baby? Ana, you and I have to talk," Kate says. I roll my eyes. What's the big deal about me calling my baby baby?

"Sounds like my baby brother finally found his balls," Elliot says.

"I'd love to go, baby," Ana says with a wink. I almost drop the phone when Kate lets out another high pitched scream.

"Steele, you have lots of talking to do! I can't believe you haven't called me!" This from Kate.

I need to end this call.

"Let's meet there at 10," I say.

"You're picking up the tab, C," Elliot says. Like he's hurting for money, that cheap bastard. I know he wants to order thousand dollar bottles champagne on me.

"Whatever. See you tonight." I've had enough of this call and hangs up.

I turn back to Ana who has the sweetest little blush across her face.

"Why don't you make yourself at home. I have to do some work since Ros and I have a meeting mid week. Can I leave you alone for a few hours while I do some research? You can relax in the library, watch tv. You can do whatever you want. Mi casa es su casa," I say. She giggles and I give her one deep kiss. I tried to pull away but she holds on to me and deepens the kiss even more.

"Down, girl," I say. "We have tonight and tomorrow. I want to give you a break because Big Nasty will be relentless tonight."

She blushes.

"You promise?" She asks. I kiss her one last time and head to my office. How did I get so lucky to have this angel here in my apartment? I wish there was a way that I could keep her here always, locked in my apartment. For my eyes only. I shake my head at the thought. That's not what my Ana would want and I wouldn't want to do anything that would kill her spirit. That's one of the things that draws me to her. When I look in her eyes, I see joy, laughter and pure happiness. How did I manage to get someone like that to give me the time of day? I know I don't deserve her, but I'm going to do my best to keep her with me.

It's ten o'clock when we arrive at the Mile High Club. As usual I called ahead so they can section off a VIP section for us. Elliot and Kate are already there when we arrive. I'm walking behind Ana and I'm checking out her ass in that short, black, tight little number that came from Neiman's. I look around and see some guys checking her out. I grab her hand and we walk up to Elliot and Kate together. Elliot and Kate sees our joined hands, and Elliot lets out a loud whistle while Kate does a catcall. These two idiots are made for each other.

To shock them some more, I sit down and put Ana on my lap. She looks at me shocked and I give her a quick kiss on the lips.

"You got the girl, bro! Let's celebrate!" Elliot calls the waitress over and orders champagne for the table.

"Ana, come with me to the ladies' room," Kate says as she grabs Ana's hands and they walk to the bathroom. I look around and see Sawyer. I gesture for him to follow them. Ana thinks we're here by ourselves but Sawyer is here to shadow us without her knowing. I know how uncomfortable she is with the bodyguard thing. I see Elliot watching me.

"Ana doesn't know Sawyer is here. She's not comfortable with me having Taylor shadow me."

"If you want my opinion, you shouldn't hide this from her. You have to let her know all this shit about you up front. Baptism by fire and all that shit." Just then the girls come back. I wonder what they've talked about because Kate is laughing and Ana is blushing.

I grab her hand and put her back on my lap. Her hands go around my neck and I kiss her deeply, putting on a show for our table. I pull back when the waitress comes with our champagne. Just like I thought he would, he orders 2 bottles of champagne costing about $2800 each. We drink and when Rihanna's Umbrella comes on, Ana pulls me to the dance floor.

That's how we spent our night, drinking champagne and dancing to song after song. At some point, I danced with Kate and Ana danced with Elliot, but I only allow that for one song. I came here to be with Ana, not Kate.

Around 2 am, we leave the club and go our separate ways, promising to see each other the next evening at mom and dad's for dinner. Ana fell asleep as soon as I started driving. I had to carry her from the car into the apartment. I take her to the bedroom, undress her and put her in one of my tee shirts. I brush my teeth and climb in the bed next to her, spooning with her back to my front.

The next time I open my eyes, it's 9 am. I'm still wrapped around Ana and she's fast asleep. I get up slowly, use the bathroom and get back in bed. I sleep for another 2 hours. For 2 straight nights, I sleep for hours without the nightmares. Maybe Ana is my own personal little dream catcher.

I press Big Nasty into her butt and I feel her stirring.

"Your services are needed," I whisper in her ear.

She turns around and smiles at me. Her hair is all over her head. She has some marks from the pillow on her face but I've never seen a more beautiful sight in my life.

"Your hair is a mess," she says as she puts her little hand in my hair and messes it up some more.

"Not all of us can wake up looking gorgeous like you, Ms. Steele," I say to her.

"I admit it. It's a gift," she says playfully. "But before I let you have your way with me, I need to pee and brush my teeth." She quickly jumps out of the bed and runs to the bathroom. I go in and start brush my teeth. When she comes out of the toilet, she stands beside me and we brush our teeth together. Who would have thought something as mundane as teeth brushing would be so satisfying.

"Come here," I say as soon as we step back into the bedroom. I give her a slow kiss and carry her to the bed, where we lose ourselves in each other over and over.

"Do you think I look ok?" Ana asks nervously as I drive us to the Grey compound for Sunday dinner. Taylor is following behind us. I was going to leave him at home, but I decided to take Elliot's advice and not shield her from the realities of my life, and me needing personal security is a big part of that.

She's wearing the pair of black slacks and a pink shirt that I got her from Neiman's.

"You look beautiful. Don't be nervous about tonight. My family already knows you and likes you," I say as I squeeze her knee.

"Do you think they will like this pie?"

I had to put in a few hours of work this morning and Ana asked if she could bake something to bring for dessert. I told her she didn't have to do that, but my family would love anything she made. I came out of my office to the smell of homemade apple pie. She's holding it on her lap now like it's an infant. She looks so cute.

"They will love it, baby. We have to keep an eye on Elliot or he might eat the entire thing by himself. Apple pie is his favorite. And his greedy ass is already here," I say as I pull into my parent's driveway.

"What's your favorite?" She asks me.

"You," I say and she smiles and grabs my hand. We continue to hold hands as we walk towards the front door.

Before I even get a chance to open the door to the house, it swings open and Hurricane Grace pulls Ana into a hug, almost knocking the pie to the ground.

"Ana, dear! I'm so happy you came. We've all been waiting for you."

"It's nice to see you again, Grace. I brought pie."

"Thank you, dear. Christian, take this into the kitchen," she says as she hands me the dessert.

She puts her arm through Ana's and they walk into the family room.

"It's nice to see you too, mom," I say sarcastically. I put the pie down on the kitchen counter and go to find my family.

Everyone turns around to look at me and I can see from the look in Elliot's eyes, he's about to give me shit.

"Christian, I spend hours with you and Ana last night and neither of you mentioned that mom walked in on you naked in your bed yesterday morning?"

"Elliot, stop embarrassing your brother," Grace says.

"What?" Mia asked. "First of all, how come I wasn't included in your plans yesterday? Second, gross! I don't want to hear about you two being naked."

I look over at Ana and she's turned completely red, probably ready to die from embarrassment. Dad and Kate are trying to hide their grins.

I walk over to Ana and she puts her head on my chest, hiding from my uncouth brother. She puts both hands on my chest. Everyone in the room, with the exception of Kate, gasps. I grab Ana's hands, kiss them, and put them right back on my chest.

Mom and Mia both get tears in their eyes. Mom walks over to me and Ana we end up in a group hug.

Mom grabs Ana's face and smiles at her.

"We're so glad you're here, sweet girl."

Dad clears his throat and quickly relieves the tension in the room.

"How about some lemon martinis? Ana, you're the only one who has never tried one of my famous martinis. Since you're our guest of honor, you get the first one. What do you say?" Dad asks.

"I say pour me a martini!" Ana says.

"A girl after my own heart. I'll be right back. Kate, why don't you come be my assistant bar tender?" He offers Kate his arm and they go to the bar to work their magic.

"Can I help you do anything, Grace?" Ana asks.

"Sure, dear. Let's go into the kitchen and get better acquainted,"

"How much more acquainted can you get, mom? You already saw her naked," Elliot says.

I slap him upside the head. "Shut up, asshole."

"Cut it out, boys. I didn't see anything, Elliot. They were completely covered. Come on, Ana." Mom takes Ana's arm and together they walk into the kitchen.

ANA

"You have a beautiful home, Grace. It's so warm and inviting," I say to Christian's mom. The house really is beautiful. It's not just a house but a mansion. I almost lost my nerve when Christian pulled into the driveway. The lawns are perfectly manicured and the inside is decorated in neutral tones. The kitchen is to die for with granite counter tops and high-end appliances.

The walls are covered in family photos. I see many of Christian as from toddler to adult. Grace and Carrick truly are all about their children.

"Thank you, Ana. I want you to just make yourself at home. I still need to finish the salad. Do you think you can cut up some cucumbers and tomatoes for me?"

"Sure." I step to the counter when she has a cutting board and the veggies that need to be cut. I was everything off just as Carrick, Christian, Kate, Elliot and Mia come back in with the drinks. Ever the gentleman, Christian brings my martini and raises it to my lips so I can drink. He sits it down and stands behind me. Just like the other night when we made stir fry, he puts his arms around me. I put the knife in his hands, puts my hands on top of his and we start to chop. We chop up two cucumbers and half a tomato before we realize we're being watched. I only realized it when I grabbed a piece of cucumber and turned around to feed it to him. He takes it from me and gives me a sweet kiss.

"Thank you, baby," he said.

I look up and the entire family, Kate included, is standing there just watching us. I get totally embarrassed and quickly turn around and get back to my chopping.

"I'm definitely not eating that salad. It's going to be full of Christian's drool," Elliot says. I turn even redder.

"Can someone tell me where my brother, the big bad CEO went? Remember him? The one who makes grown men quake in fear with just one look? Where did he go? Did you cut off his balls, Ana? Mom, did you see Christian's balls among their discarded clothes?" Elliot asks.

Kate playfully punches him in the arm and tells him to hush.

"Jesus, mom. Did you leave out any details?" Christian asks.

"Elliot, I told you this in confidence!" Grace says.

"You people have never seen a guy with his girlfriend before? We're not a damn zoo exhibit," Christian says.

Did he just say girlfriend?

"Girlfriend?" I ask in surprise.

"That's what he said, dear. I'm so happy for you two," Grace says.

Christian must sense my surprise. He ignores his mother, takes my hand, takes me to one of the guest bathrooms and closes the door.

"Yes, girlfriend. Is that a surprise to you?"

"It's just that we've never discussed it. You never asked?"

"We're not in junior high, Ana. We spent the entire weekend together. You gave me your virginity.."

"Shhhh! Your mom is probably listening outside the door."

"This is ridiculous. Will you be my girlfriend, Anastasia?" He asks with clenched teeth.

I cross my arms. "Maybe if you ask nicely. Maybe," I say with a smile.

He smiles back and my heart nearly stops. He's so handsome when he smiles.

"Ms. Steele. Ever since I first saw you talking to Ros at Little Tots' grand opening, I have done nothing but think about you. You've consumed me ever since. This past weekend that we've spent together has been the best of my life. Will you please be my girlfriend? You're the only one I want and I can't even stomach the thought of you with anyone else."

Oh my god!

I pretend to think about it.

"What does being your girlfriend entail exactly?"

He kisses me. "Lots of kisses, hugs, affection, access to Big Nasty whenever you want, my intrusive mother and the rest of my crazy family, and last of all, me."

Keeping with tradition, I jump into his arms, wrap my legs around him. "Yes! I would love to be your girlfriend!" He spins me around in the small space, gives me a passionate kiss, filled with tongues and gnashing teeth.

He puts me down and I open the door to see Grace running away from the bathroom as fast as she can. I guess I was right. She was listening behind the door. Kill me now if she heard Christian's comment about taking my virginity.

"She said yes!" I hear her tell the others.

Everyone starts to cheer. Elliot lets out a loud whistle. Mia and Kate hug me. Grace hugs Carrick. You'd think we just discovered the cure for cancer instead of just agreeing to date each other exclusively.

"Way to go, Steele! It only took 5 years for this to happen! Way to go!"

"Let's have some appetizers before dinner, everyone," Grace says. "Ana and Kate, I have tons of pictures of the boys growing up. I even have some video of their old music recitals," Grace says with excitement. I'm eager to see more pictures of my man through the years but Mia, Elliot and Christian all groan.

"I thought you were only embarrassing Christian. How did I get sucked into this? Come on, C. Let's go get in dad's good liquor and leave the women to the pictures. Come on, dad." Elliot and the rest of the guys leave and head to what I assume is Carrick's office.

Grace spends the next forty five minutes showing Kate and I numerous photos of all 3 Grey siblings from the time they were adopted until adulthood. My favorite was a picture of Elliot and Christian taken the Halloween before Mia became a Grey. They were both dressed up as cowboys, complete with boots, hat, and lasso. Grace told us they were obsessed with watching reruns of the show Bonanza with Carrick. She said Christian became very upset and cried when he didn't get a real-life horse to go with his costume.

Just then the guys come back with their drinks, laughing at something stupid Elliot probably said. I get up holding the picture of Christian and Elliot and show it to him. Both guys groan and roll their eyes.

"Is that the year C completely lost it when he realized he wouldn't be getting a horse? God, he was such an idiot."

That lemon martini must have gone straight to my head because I put my arm around Christian's waist a.

"I'm sorry you didn't get your horsey, honey," I say as I get on my tippy toes to give him a kiss.

"Who are you and what did you do to Ana?" Kate asks with a laugh.

"You two are disgusting," Elliot says. "Can we eat now, mom? I've had enough these two kissy faces," Elliot says.

I see Grace's eyes water again but she quickly swipes at them quickly to prevent the tears from falling down her cheeks.

"Feel free to kiss with impunity, kids. Come on, let's eat." Carrick says with a laugh.

As we're walking to the living room, Christian leans down and whispers in my ear. "I have your horse cock right here."

"And cowgirl Ana is ready for another ride," I respond. Thankfully nobody else heard that.

Dinner is very informal. Grace cooked a delicious meal of prime rib, garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed kale with bacon bits. Grace served my apple pie with vanilla ice cream. Everyone raved about it and Elliot asked me to make it again for him next weekend. Christian finished his dessert in record time and starts to eat mine. He'd feed himself a bit, and then feed me. Elliot mad gagging sounds at the site of that.

"You can learn something from him, Elliot. You inhaled your dessert in record time and then just ate mine. You didn't feed me like Christian did to Ana."

"See what you've started, Schmoopie?" Elliot asks as Christian gives him the middle finger. Grace just shakes her head and smiles, happy to see her kids so carefree.

"I agree with Elliot, Ana. You have to make this again for us next Sunday," Carrick says.

"Well I'll do my best to be here for dinner next week, but my parents are visiting me next weekend so it depends on what time they leave on Sunday," I respond. Christian gives me a look of surprise. I totally forgot to mention my parents' visit to him.

"Don't forget Ethan will be here too and we're having a little dinner party on Saturday," Kate says.

"Well now that you've been to one dinner, you have to come to them all. You're an official member of Cult Grey, with Grace Grey being the crazy cult leader," Elliot jokes.

"Why am I just now hearing about this, Ana. I wanted you to spend the weekend with me again," Christian says in front of everyone. Of course they all sit there, watching our interaction. Is there any privacy in this family?

"It slipped my mind. I want all of you to come to the dinner party Saturday if everyone is free," I say to the entire table.

"Yay! I'm free," Mia says.

"Shocker!" Elliot retorts as he rolls his eyes.

"We'd love to come, Ana. Grace and I are free," Carrick says.

Christian squeezes my leg under the table. "Sounds good, baby. I'd love to meet your parents."

"Great. We'll let you know the details during the week. Ana's cooking and baking," Kate says.

"If you make this pie again, I'll definitely be there," Elliot says.

After dessert ends, we say our goodbyes with promises to see each other again later in the week. Grace hugs me tight and thanks me for coming, making me promise to do my best to come back next Sunday. She even said I was free to bring my parents, but I assured her they would probably want to head back to Montesano before it gets too late.

I notice Taylor as soon as we step outside. I guess he'll be driving us this time since Christian had a few drinks. In the car, he sits me in the middle seat, right next to him and holds on to me the entire drive, kissing me and telling me how much he's going to miss me tonight. I must admit that leaving him is harder than I thought, but I need to go home and prepare for work the next day.

"I'll miss you, too," I tell him. "I'll see you tomorrow, in just a few short hours.

"I still think you should let me come pick you up and take you to work," he says.

"Kate will give me a ride," I say. I don't tell him this, but I don't want the entire building knowing our business. His nosey family I can deal with, but I don't want everyone pointing and whispering about me behind my back.

"Have lunch with me in my office around 12:30," Christian says.

"Ok, but I'll bring the lunch."

"Deal."

Just then Taylor pulls up in my parking lot and Christian gives me a long, deep kiss before he walks me to my apartment.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE**

 **I finally had to stop the chapter here. I'm sorry it's so long but I wanted their weekend together and the family dinner to be in the same chapter. So, Ana and Christian went out in public together over the weekend. Do you think it's possible that someone might have snapped a picture and sold it to the Nooz? We'll find out next.**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading this story. 584 followers and 326 reviews! I'm blown away. Please continue to read and review. Until next time.**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

 **All credit to ELJ.**

 **This is kind of a transitional chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

 **ANA**

Kate was already in the apartment, without Elliot, when Christian walked me inside. He greets Kate, give me one last kiss before heading to the door.

He places his forehead on mine.

"I'm going to miss you, Ana. This weekend was amazing. I'll stop by and see you in the morning before I head up to my office."

"I'll miss you too," I say before he walks out. I close the door and lean on it, with my eyes closed, just basking in the afterglow of my glorious weekend.

"Looks like someone had a good weekend," Kate says. I had forgotten she was here.

"It was ok," I say and try to act nonchalant as I walk to my bedroom.

"Bullshit, Steele," Kate says as she follows me inside the bedroom. "You're practically glowing. The man could not keep his hands off of you the entire evening. Admit it, Steele, you're in love."

"Love? Don't be ridiculous. I've known the man less than 2 weeks."

"What's that got to do with anything? You're always putting things on a timetable and love doesn't work that way. He's in love, too. I watched him that first night at the party and he just couldn't stop looking at you. Everywhere you went, his eyes followed."

"That doesn't mean he's in love with me. There's a very strong physical attraction, I admit," I say.

"Strong attraction and love are not mutually exclusive, Steele. You've read enough romance novels and watched too many romantic comedies not to know that," Kate retorts.

"Kate, do you think a man like that can really love someone like me? He's gorgeous, super successful. He moves with movers and shakers in Washington. He probably has dinner with the governor regularly. What can I bring to his world? I manage a daycare."

"Will you stop with that bullshit, Steele? You run a daycare at one of the biggest corporations in the world. You're so smart. You have so much ambition. Don't you dare put yourself down. Christian Grey wants you and has invited you into his inner circle, Steele. Do you think someone like him would do that with just anybody?"

"But what if..," I start to say.

"No what ifs. You're a beautiful woman, on the inside and out. You're kind, sweet, funny, intelligent. You're the total package. I don't want to hear you put yourself down anymore. Now, let's talk about more interesting things. How was the sex? You only told me a little bit last night at the club," Kate says with a wide smile.

For the next half an hour, I tell her about our weekend. How I barged into his office, the office sex, dinner at his house, more sex. I make no mention of what Christian told me about Elena. That's between us, but I fill her in on everything else.

I decide to change the subject and ask her about her relationship with Elliot.

"It seems you guys spend all your free time together. Is it getting serious?" I ask.

"Definitely, Steele. I am heads over heels in love with Elliot Grey," Kate says and goes on to list about one hundred different ways on how wonderful Elliot is. Kate dated a lot in college and had lots of boyfriends, but never anyone serious and never anyone for this long. It's nice to see her so happy.

"Who would have thought that we'd end up dating brothers, huh?" I ask.

"We can end up sisters in law, Steele!"

"Are you and Elliot that serious?" I ask.

"We are definitely getting there. He hasn't mentioned marriage but he's hinted about moving in together."

"Do you think you're ready for that?"

"Definitely, but I don't know if it will happen before spring. He's renovating a new house in Bellevue and it won't be ready until at least spring."

"Wow. I didn't realize things were getting that serious. I'm happy for you, Kate."

I go over and hug her.

"The way Christian looks at you and the way he acts around you, I have a feeling things are going to get serious between you two very quickly," she says. She's probably just saying that to ease the sting of her possible move.

"Don't be ridiculous. We've only just met."

"You and your timetable," she says.

"Anyway, I'm bringing him lunch tomorrow. I'll fix you a lunch too as a thank you for the ride to work."

"Not necessary. Ethan is getting in town tomorrow morning and I'm taking him for lunch. I was going to ask you to join us but I guess you have other plans with your bae," she says and I blush. I guess he is my bae now.

I spend the rest of the evening getting ready for work. The daycare staff are required to wear a button down style shirt with the Little Tots logo, but we can wear whatever pants or skirt we want. I decide on a black pencil skirt and pair of black, closed toed wedges, along with a grey shirt for work in the morning.

I spend the next few hours making lasagna and a tossed salad for tomorrow's lunch. I decide to head to bed after packing up our lunch.

I remember to grab my forgotten cell phone out of my purse to charge it when I notice several missed calls and about 6 texts from Christian. I decide to call him back and he answers on the first ring.

"What the hall, Ana? I've been trying to reach you for hours. I was just about to come to your apartment to make sure you're ok."

"I'm fine. I was talking to Kate and making lunch for us for tomorrow," I say.

"I could have gotten us lunch," he says.

"I know but I wanted to do something for you. You took care of me all weekend."

"I loved taking care of you. I wish you came back here tonight. I miss you like crazy."

I miss him too. I kept myself busy talking to Kate and cooking for the past few hours, but now that it's time for bed, I'm going to miss not having him next to me.

"I miss you too, but I had to come home eventually. I'll see you in just a few short hours. I'll be in the office by 7 since Kate has an early breakfast meeting."

"I wish you'd let me pick you up," he says. I can picture him pouting.

"Aw, baby. I can't wait to see you tomorrow," I say trying to make him happy.

"Neither can I, Ms. Steele. I know you must be tired and I have some work to do, so I will let you get your beauty sleep. Good night, baby," he says and blows me two kisses over the phone. I blow two kisses back and him and we end the call. I take my birth control pill and go to bed.

I arrive at work a few minutes before 7, along with 4 other staff members. I'm alternating the opening shift with the assistant director, Hannah. I'm here 7 to 4:30 this week, and next week, I'll be here 9 to 6.

It's only our second week, but I have to review the lesson plans the teachers submitted for the pre-kindergarten kids. I also need to review payroll and make sure that all parents who have signed up have made their payment for the first month, and I have a few emails that came in over the weekend that I need to respond to.

After about 10 minutes, I hear footsteps walking towards my office. I look up and the sexiest man I've ever seen walks into my office, closes the door, comes to my desk and picks me up out of my chair and kisses me passionately. I put my fingers in his hair and return the kiss.

"Well good morning," I stay after he pulls away. He finally puts me down and engulfs me in a hug, pressing me into his body.

"God, you're beautiful. These last few hours without you have been miserable," he says.

I look up at him and notice that as handsome as he looks, he looks tired. I grab his face and examine him closely.

"You look tired, baby. Were you up all night working?"

He puts his forehead on top of mine and shakes his head.

"Remember I told you about the nightmares. They were horrible last night."

"You still have those? I guess I misunderstood. I thought you had outgrown. You didn't have them all weekend."

"They've never gone away. The only time I was nightmare free was when I shared a bed with you."

"Really?" I ask in surprise.

"Yes, baby. Stay with me again tonight. I need you."

"Of course. I don't like to see you so tired."

"I have a breakfast meeting across town, but I will see you for lunch."

"What are you doing here, if you have a breakfast meeting?" I ask.

"I told you I'd see you this morning and I wanted to keep my word. See you later," he says as he leans down and puts his warm lips on mine. The kiss starts off small, chaste even, but it soon turns passionate. His hands worked their way around my body as he fells every inch of me from my shoulders all the way down to my ass, which he gives a firm squeeze as he pushes me into his erection. I pull away and try to catch my breath.

"We can do more of that tonight, but anyone can walk in here at any time," I say.

"Let them. What are they going to say to me?" He says with a smirk. "Have you had breakfast?" Thank goodness he changed the subject.

"No. I usually skip breakfast, but I brought a banana."

"A banana is not breakfast. I'll have something sent to you. You know how much I love to feed you, Ana." After one last chaste kiss, he opens the door and leaves. I see Mr. Bodyguard standing outside my door. I give him an awkward wave and he nods. Before I know it, they are gone.

About twenty minutes later, I'm delivered French toast, eggs and bacon, the exact same meal I had with him on Saturday. I ate every last bite as I imagine other uses for the maple syrup.

CHRISTIAN

After a pointless breakfast meeting with the president of one of the companies under our umbrella, I make it back to GEH a little after 9. On our way back to the office, I asked Taylor to make sure that Ana's car is completely disabled. I want it to be so expensive to fix that she won't bother. I really want her to let me buy her a car, but judging by the way she reacted to a few pieces of clothing, I don't think that will go over too well. That leaves me with plan B, convincing her to borrow one of my cars. I don't have a plan on how I'm going to get her to agree, but maybe if I fuck her hard enough and put her in a sex daze, she'll agree with whatever I suggest.

After the breakfast meeting, Taylor lets me know that there's a picture of me in the Nooz from the weekend. I look at it and it looks like a picture taken of me and Ana holding hands on our way to Dish on Saturday afternoon. You can see my face, but Ana's face was turned towards me, probably in an attempt to shield herself from the wind and rain, so you can't see her face.

It's a nonsensical article stating how I must be taken since I'm holding hands with an unknown female. Clearly, assholes. Why else would I be walking down the street holding someone's hand? It then asks its readers to help them in finding out who the mysterious lady is. I roll my eyes at the article and hope that Ana isn't bothered by it. I'm in the Nooz quite a bit, but this will be another thing about me that she has to get used to. I remember Elliot's advice about not hiding certain aspects of my life from her, but how can I tell her that eventually she'll have to get a bodyguard too and that these types of articles are going to be the norm? What if she decides it's too much and wants to leave me? I can't let that happen.

I have back to back meetings today, and had to cancel a lunch meeting so that I can have my time with Ana. She's quickly become a priority in my life, so if I have to change my schedule around to accommodate her, that's what I'll do.

I have an 11 o'clock with Ros and the heads of research and development about a potential new acquisition. The meeting actually goes over and I don't end up back in my office until 12:15. Thankfully Ana isn't due for another fifteen minutes.

"Andrea, Ms. Steele is due up here any minute now. Please tell her to just come in. After she gets here, feel free to go to lunch," I say as I walk to my office. When I enter my office, I go directly into my bathroom to brush my teeth and hair, and splash on some cologne. I want to look and smell good for my woman.

Just as I step out of the bathroom, the most beautiful woman I've ever seen walks into my office. I take the bag of food from her hand, deposit it on the floor and push her up against the wall. Without saying a word, I cover her mouth with mine, tasting her. She tastes of peppermint. She moans into my mouth as she returns the kiss, and I feel myself harden. I press my erection into her.

"Yes," she moans as she reaches for my belt buckle. I decide to help her and we swiftly unbuckle the belt. I take it off completely and throw it on the floor. Ana is just as impatient as I am as she lowers my pants and briefs. Thank goodness she's wearing a skirt because I just push it up, revealing a sexy little black thong. I waste no time in ripping it apart and fingering her.

"Oh, God, Christian. That feels good," she says against my mouth. I stroke her clit and she moans even louder, driving me crazy. I decide she's wet enough as I lift up her leg and align myself at her opening. I enter her in one stroke.

"Ana," I groan as I pump in and out of her. I feel her getting wetter around me and her moans of pleasure fill the room. I increase my pace, moaning her name over and over again. I feel her shudder against me and call out my name one last time as she orgasms.

"Oh, baby," I moan as I find my release inside of her, filling her with my seed. I set her back down on the ground and watch as she runs into the bathroom to wash up, the evidence of our lovemaking sliding down her leg. I put my pants, underwear and belt back in place. I step outside my office and grab us 2 bottles of cold water to go with our lunch.

When I walk back into the office, Ana is putting our food out on my desk. I walk up behind her and hug her from behind, kissing the top of her head.

"You really did miss me, didn't you?" she asks.

"You have no idea, baby."

"I think I do. I'm going to feel you for the rest of the day. That was intense. You ripped my underwear again. Now I have to go without the rest of the day"

"Good. I want you to remember where only I've ever been," I say as I pinch her ass. She gasps in surprise and laughs.

"And you need to realize something about your man. I'm always prepared," I say to her as I go into the small closet I have in my bathroom. I come back out holding a pair if red, lacy thongs.

"For you, my lady," I say with a bow.

She laughs as she reaches for them. "Wow, you do think of everything, kind sir," she says.

"What do we have here?" I ask, looking at the containers of food.

"I have home-made lasagna and a tossed salad."

"Sounds delicious," I say as I sit at my desk.

"Come here," I say, patting my lap. She smiles and comes and takes a seat right on top of my dick, which is now flaccid and satisfied. "Feed me, woman."

She puts a piece of lasagna on a fork and offers it to me.

"Mhmm," I moan. "It's almost as delicious as you," I say.

"It's been way too long since I've tasted you. I'm going to take my time tonight and lick every inch of your sexy body," I whisper in her ear.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Mr. Grey."

"I never do."

"Try my salad."

"Toss your salad? Ms. Steele, you freak," I say in mock surprise.

She playfully slaps me on the chest and hides her face in my neck.

"That's not what I said, and you know it."

We spend the next few minutes feeding each other bites of delicious lasagna and salad. I make like I'm about to feed her the last piece but at the last minute, I change course and put it in my own mouth. She looks at me with a shocked expression on her face and gently slaps me on the chest.

I retaliate by nibbling on the crook of her neck while my hand slides up her thigh. She throws her head back and laughs as I continue to nibble and pepper her neck and face with kisses as she tries to swat me away. We were so caught up in each other that I didn't hear the door to my office open and close.

"Well, this is a surprise."

We both stop and look up to see Ros standing in my office holding her iPad. Ana shifts in my lap and attempts to arrange her clothes.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you how to knock, Rosalyn?" I ask.

"In all the years I've worked here, I've never once knocked before walking in. I'm not about to start now. Maybe you should learn to lock the door," she says.

Ros looks around the office, her eyes landing on the food containers on my desk. Ana is looking everywhere but at her.

"What do you want?"

She hands me her iPad and points to the article about me published in the Nooz.

"I was going to come here and give you hell about this article, and maybe try to pry the name of the girl out of you, but I guess I know who the mysterious brunette is," she says smirking at us.

"I didn't know you followed gossip rags like the Nooz. I'll be sure to get you a subscription to US Weekly next Christmas. Are you done?" I ask? Since when do I explain myself to anybody, least of all someone who works for me.

"What article are you talking about?" Ana asks. Fuck! I wasn't planning on bringing it up until tonight after I had fucked her into another dimension.

"It's just a stupid article, baby. Don't worry about it."

"Baby?" Ros asks with amusement.

"Yes, baby. Can't a guy call his girlfriend baby without any question?"

"Girlfriend?"

"Are you some damn parrot, Ros. Yes, Ana is my girlfriend. It became official yesterday," I say proudly. Just for good measure, I give Ana a soft kiss on the lips.

"Well good for you two. I'm happy for you. This explains why you were practically giddy at this morning's meeting. You didn't raise your voice a single time and you ran out of there as soon as the meeting was over. I guess you had lunch plans. But if you fuck this up Grey and cause Ana to quit, you'll live to regret it," she says before she walks out of my office.

Ana leaves my lap and frantically searches for her shoes. She rummages through her purse and pulls out her smartphone. I sigh as I get up and walk over to her. Just as I thought, she's on the Nooz site and has pulled up the article. I run my hands through my hair knowing that our little bubble of bliss is about to burst.

"I just don't understand why anybody would care who I am or who you're dating. I didn't even consider that this would be an issue when we went out on Saturday. Oh, my goodness. Do you think there might be pictures of us from the club? This stupid article is asking the readers to send more photos. If anyone saw us on Saturday and took a picture, they will send it in, Christian," she says.

"It's just one picture, Ana, and your face is not shown. What's the big deal?"

"But there could be more pictures out there. The big deal is I don't want people in our business, digging into my life, criticizing my every move, and asking why someone like you is with someone like me. I don't want my colleagues to start gossiping about me behind my back," she says.

"I'm with you because I think you're wonderful. Because I can't stop thinking about you and because I love being with you. I don't care what anybody else thinks and neither should you. This is our relationship. Let people think whatever the hell they want to."

I see her calm down and I take that opportunity to hold her in my arms and soothe her. Just as I begin to rub her back, my phone rings. It's the head of PR, Maddie Hamilton, telling me that more pictures of me and Ana have surfaced from our night at the Mile High Club. I quickly open up the email from Ms. Hamilton and see pictures of me and Ana dancing, Ana sitting on my lap laughing at something stupid Elliot probably said, and several of us kissing. The article ends with the Nooz vowing to find out who the brunette bombshell is. I close my eyes and mentally prepare for the fight I know we will have before this day is over.

She must notice the expression on my face because she rushes to my desk and sees the pictures. Her eyes widen in shock and she covers her mouth with both hands.

"They don't know your name yet," I say the only good thing I can think of.

"It's only a matter of time. Oh, my god!"

"I'll get my PR department to put together a statement saying we're together. This doesn't have to be an issue. We're a couple. End of story." Please don't freak out over this, I think to myself. Please save the freaking out for the CPO talk we'll have to have before this day ends.

"I have to get back downstairs so Hannah can go to lunch. I also have to have my car towed. I've completely forgotten about that. Damn!" She says. I can see her shoulders hunch in defeat. I go to her and pull her into my arms.

"Don't worry about the car, baby. Give me your keys and I'll have Taylor handle the tow."

"I can do it, Christian. It's my car and my responsibility."

"Damn it Ana, it's ok if I do somethings for you," I shout.

"Don't you raise your voice at me, Christian!" she yells back.

"It's only a matter of time before someone comes forward with your name. It's best if you stay in the damn building before the press starts hounding you. I'll pick you up at 5 and we can go to Escala." I say. I'm not backing down on this. She's not leaving the damn building.

"Now give me your god damn keys."

She looks at me directly in the eyes.

"No. I'll just take care of it tomorrow."

"So damn stubborn, Ana. Your ass better not leave this fucking building until I come down there with Taylor. Yes, Taylor. My bodyguard." Get used to it because you're going to have one of your own effective immediately, I think to myself.

"Fine. We can finish this conversation then because I have a lot more I want to say to you," she says as she grabs our empty lunch containers and starts to walk towards the door. I go after her, grab her arm and spin her around. She looks up at me and before she can say another smart-ass thing, I kiss her. It's a rough kiss this time, showing all of my irritation. She doesn't mind because she drops the lunch containers, puts her hands in my hair and deepens the kiss. I pull away before we get carried away.

"I'll see you at 5," I say.

"Fine," she says before she walks out of the office.

I text Taylor to come into my office and he arrives less than a minute later.

"I take it you've been made aware of the articles?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ana can't be left alone anymore. Have Sawyer positioned outside the daycare center. Tell him to be as inconspicuous as possible because she doesn't know about him yet," I say with a sigh. It's just after 1 and I've already got a big headache.

"By tomorrow, he'll be with her permanently."

"Good luck with that conversation, sir," Taylor says. "But I've already put Sawyer on it. He was already in the lobby waiting on her. He knows he's to stay out of the way for now."

I nod, and he leaves the office just as my phone starts to ring.

ANA

Walking through the lobby of GEH, I see lots of people milling around. None of them paid any attention to me, which is good. I see this giant of a man standing the receptionist's desk, but I'm too irritated to pay him much attention. I walk back into the daycare center and all is quiet since it's naptime for the kids. Hannah waves and me and smiles as she goes to take her lunch.

I walk into my office and see a bouquet of pink roses. There must be about 3 dozen of them. I pull the card and smile as I read the message:

Pink roses for my beautiful blushing Rose.

Always, C

Be still, my heart. I never in a million years thought I'd be dating someone like Christian Grey. After meeting him, I assumed he was just another asshole rich guy who felt entitled to have whatever he wanted. I thought he'd be sick of me by now, especially since I slept with him after just one day, but he's shown himself to be extremely romantic and sweet.

I decide to put the Nooz article out of my mind for now. Since I have some downtime, I decide to check my finances since I'll most likely need to buy another car soon. I was hoping to work for at least six months before needing a new car, but since Wanda has died on me, I'll have to adjust my plan. I check my savings account and only have three thousand in there. That's not enough for a down payment for a decent car. I can probably get away with taking the bus for another month or two while I save some money. The bus ride is only about fifteen minutes, and the stop is right in front of my house.

Just as I'm about to turn to some work, I receive an instant message from Kate with an attachment.

Oh, fuck! It's another article from the Nooz complete with my name, a short biography and even my high school year book picture. They sure work quick, don't they?

I call Kate.

"You're famous, Steele," she ways, without bothering to say hello.

"Ugh! Don't remind me. This is ridiculous, Kate. I don't want all of Seattle knowing my business. I know I haven't dated much, but this is not the type of complication I ever considered."

"This is what happens when you land Seattle's most eligible bachelor."

"What do I do?"

"Don't worry about it. It will die down after a few days. Listen, I have to run into a meeting. Ethan is going to stay with us for the next few days, is that ok? He wants to visit some friends in the city and doesn't want to have to commute from our parent's house."

"Sure. It's fine," I say distractedly. "I'm going to Christian's tonight. I might not be home."

"Don't let that article bother you, ok, Steele? He's famous here and the Nooz is obsessed with him. This will go away soon," she says as we end the call.

I work for a few more hours, doing billing, payroll for the staff and ordering supplies. Thankfully, not a single staff member mentioned the article. Maybe they don't follow that rag. I'd hate for them to start talking about me behind my back or treating me differently because I'm with Christian.

It's now pick up time and I'm in the lobby talking to Hanna and some parents. I have my back turned to the door, but I feel this energy and I know Christian just walked in. I turn around and there he is, bigger than life.

Everyone freezes when they see him, myself included. I assumed he'd call or text me to come out and meet him in the lobby, but he starts to walk towards me the minute his eyes land on mine.

"Are you ready to go, baby?" He asks in front of everyone. I'll need to talk to him about being discreet. I blush.

"Sure. I was just saying good night to Heather." I say good night to everyone and go into my office to get my stuff. He follows me in there, closes the door and attacks my mouth with his. I welcome his kiss and wrap my arms around his neck.

"Thank you for the flowers. When did you have time to do that?" I ask.

"I'm superman, baby. I can do anything," he says with a wink.

"Are you out of your damn mind, Christian? I'm not getting a bodyguard."

This man must have lost his mind from the time I left his office until now. After discussing the Nooz article and the fact that they now have my name and information, he informs me that the press will start hounding me for information about our relationship and that they will be relentless in their pursuits. He warned me that they will call my old friends and family to try and dig up dirt on me. I'm not worried because there is no dirt about me to dig, except for my mother's multiple marriages, but who cares about that?

He tells me that his PR department is issuing a statement about us tomorrow, once he and I review and approve it, and that I'll be big news for the next few days. I was ready for that. Kate had warned me that this would last a few days but would probably blow over once they move on to a new story.

Then he drops the bombshell about me needing my own security. I just stared at him for a few minutes before asking him if he was out of his mind.

"I'm perfectly lucid, Ana."

"I beg to differ if you think that I'll ever agree to have someone follow me everywhere I go."

"We're in a relationship now. It's not just the medial who will hound you. There are lots of crazies out there. I get all sorts of threats, and you probably will too now that we're together," he says calmly. Why is he so calm when I'm ready to lose my shit?

"Nobody cares who I am. They are just interested in you. They will be interested in me for a few days and then will go away."

"That doesn't stop the crazies from coming out. We'll be out in public all the time. There are some charity events that I'm going to want you to attend with me. All of those things will put you in the spotlight. I don't want to leave you unprotected."

"I can protect myself," I say.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn? I know you can take care of yourself but you're a tiny thing and I don't want anything to happen to you. Do you know that Mia and my mom are threatened with kidnapping about twice a year? They have their own security, too."

"Well good for them, but that's not going to be me."

"Like hell, it's not," he says through clenched teeth.

"Just because we're a couple doesn't make you my boss," I say. If he wants a fight, he'll get one.

"Stop acting like a child, Ana. Do you want to be harassed on the street? Do you want some crazy lunatic to try and get his hands on you? I know you think you can protect yourself, but you won't be able to."

"I'm licensed to carry. I can just have my dad bring me my gun this weekend." That must have been the worst thing I could possibly say because he goes from calm to downright irate.

"Are you out of your fucking mind, woman? You're going to walk around the city with a gun in your purse? You're going to bring a gun into a god damn daycare? There are no guns allowed in my building. I care about you and I'm going to protect you even though you don't make it fucking easy. Effective immediately you will have security. If you continue to refuse or if you try to avoid him, I'll change your work contract stating that you will have security at all times," he shouts.

"You can't change the contract unless I agree. I'm not an idiot."

"I'm Christian fucking Grey. I can do whatever the fuck I want!"

"So, I guess I better get in line, is that it? You've spoken so I better listen?"

"In this instance, yes. You're being completely unreasonable. I would die if anything happened to you. In just a short time, you've become my world. Please stop fighting me on this. Do you care about me, Ana?

"Of course, I do, Christian. You've become my world in just a few short days too." I say, softening my stance just a little. "I don't want you to have to worry about me."

"Then please do this for me. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you."

"How about I agree and once the novelty about me wears off, we can revisit this whole body guard thing?"

CHRISTIAN

I should really tell her how she will never be without protection again, but I decide to hold off. She'll realize how necessary this is soon enough.

"Fine," I lie. I grab my phone and text Sawyer to come into the apartment. I introduce them once he walks in. She looks from him to me and back again.

"This is the person I saw in the lobby at GEH today. So, you had him watching me before you even talked to me about it? Unbelievable," she says. I groan in frustration. Someone is getting a spanking before the night is over.

"Yes. I wanted to make sure you didn't leave the building since you show no regard to your safety. Good night, Sawyer. Taylor will drive us in the morning. Please be at GEH by 7," I say dismissing him.

"So, he's just supposed to stand there inside the daycare all day scaring the children?"

"No, god damn it. He will stand outside the door. You are by far the most stubborn human being I've ever come across. You're lucky I don't spank your little ass right now," I yell. I've had enough of her shit.

"Oh, don't you wish, Mr. Grey. You're the one who's in need of a spanking for your high-handed behavior."

"Maybe some food will make you more agreeable. Oh, and before I forget, there are some more clothes in my closet for you. You don't need to remind me you can take care of yourself, I already know you can, but you're my woman now and I take care of what's mine! Let's eat." I walk over to the dining room table that Mrs. Jones has already set and pull out Ana's chair for her.

"Caveman," she says as she's sitting down.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the delicious pasta dinner that Gail prepared. I catch her looking at me several times.

"Is something on your mind, Ms. Steele? Do you see something you like?" I tease, hoping to put an end to this stupid fight.

"I'm not too far away from you this time, Mr. Grey?"

I grin at her. I push back my chair and pat my lap, and she comes over and sits on me.

"This has recently become my most favorite way to eat," she says.

"Mine too, baby."

"You're still a caveman."

"I know," I say as I kiss her temple. "And you're still going to get your little ass spanked tonight?"

She looks at me with wide eyes as I wink at her.

That ass is mine tonight

 **So, I guess nothing much happened in this chapter. Security is an important part of being with Christian Grey, so I had to get Ana on board**. **In the next chapter, Ana gets spanked and I'm going to skip a few days to the weekend. Ray and Carla arrive in Seattle in chapter 11. Let's hope Grace doesn't put her foot in her mouth. After the next chapter, I'm going to skip ahead and start to wrap up this story.**


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

All rights to ELJ

ANA

Once we finish dinner, Christian takes me by the hand and leads me to his bedroom. He doesn't say a word the entire walk to his room.

My heart is beating fast and I'm nervous about this spanking thing. I've never been spanked in my life. I know that life as a dominant in the BDSM community comes with giving out punishments, spanking being one of them, but I'm not a submissive, nor do I want to be.

I will admit that I did get turned on when he went all alpha male on me about the whole CPO thing, which I think is silly and pointless. Hopefully after about a week, I won't be followed by that giant, Luke Sawyer, anymore. Otherwise, we will have another fight which he won't win!

When we arrive in the room, he closes the door and sits on the bed as I remain standing in front of him.

"Strip," he commands, as he pulls off his tie and tosses it to the floor.

I cross my arms and stare at him, challenging him.

"Either you strip or I will rip those clothes off your body. Your choice. I won't say it again." I search his face and realize he's not kidding. I remove my shoes, slowly unbutton my shirt, followed by my skirt. I stand in front of him in only my underwear and bra. I've been naked in front of this man many times but he's looking at me now as if he's never seen a half naked woman before.

"Always so stubborn, Ms. Steele. I believe I told you to take off all of your clothes," he says calmly. Too calmly. He stands up and takes my bra off, all the while kissing my shoulders and the crook of my neck. I can feel the moisture in my underwear.

"You always have to do things the hard way, don't you? Now you leave me no choice but to destroy another pair of underwear," he says as he rips the beautiful red thongs that he gave me this afternoon. This pair barely lasted 6 hours.

"You can add another three swats to your punishment."

"Punishment? You're not my dad, Christian," I say with false bravado.

"You're right. I'm not your dad, but for the remainder of the night, I'm going to be your daddy. You fight me at every turn. You fight against your own safety. You refuse to let me help you with your car. Even now, you didn't do as you were told."

"Exactly. That's because I'm an adult and I won't let you or anybody else control me."

"That's where you're wrong, baby. I don't want to control you. I want to keep you safe and share my life with you, but I'm not going to compromise your safety just because you're too stubborn for your own good. Now stop talking." Before I can think of a smart comeback, he sits back on the bed, grabs me and lays me across his knees.

"You get spanked 9 times. 3 for fighting me about the CPO, 3 for not giving me your car keys and 3 because you didn't strip when I told you to strip. Do you understand?" I say nothing.

"I believe I asked you a question," he says as he slaps me on my left butt cheek.

"Ow! You said no more talking!" I remind him. That slap didn't sting much, but it was still a shock. Even though I'm sitting here across his knee, I didn't think he'd actually go through with this.

"Make that 12," he says as he lays another smack on my ass. He alternates between each butt cheek and massages each one between slaps, counting all the while. I moan with each hit and I can feel a pool of moisture between my legs. I never would have imagined a spanking could be so erotic.

When it's over, he sticks two fingers inside of me, making me moan even louder. I hear him sick his fingers after removing them from my moist flesh. He lifts me from across his knees and lays me on the bed, on my stomach and massages my stinging ass with some sort of ointment.

"Do you understand why you were punished?"

"Yes," I moan.

"Yes, what?"

I can't believe I'm about to say this. Thank goodness he can't see me roll my eyes from this position because I do a big, exaggerated roll.

"Yes, daddy."

"Good girl," he says, now stroking my hair. "Tell me why daddy had to punish you?"

"Because I was stubborn."

"Yes, you were." He gets up and goes into his closet for a minute. When he returns, he orders me to lay on my back. I quickly obeyed. He blindfolds me with one of his ties and ties my hands to his bed board with what feels like a silk scarf.

"Spread your legs." You don't have to tell me twice. I quickly spread them as far as I can. I feel him get off the bed but he returns very quickly. He lays next to me. I can feel that he's laying on his side. I hear this buzzing sound and before I can ask any questions, he places a vibrator on my clit. It starts off on relatively low speed. It feels really good, and soon my moans of pleasure fill the room. He increases it little by little until I'm practically panting with desire. He presses it harder against me and I orgasm. My orgasm is so strong that I buck and practically fall off the bed. He grabs me and presses my back against the mattress, assuring that I stay put.

"I got you, baby. Did you enjoy that?"

"Yes, daddy."

"Now, I'm going to untie your hands and remove the blindfold. I'm going to lay on my back. I want you to take Big Nasty into your mouth. Don't stop until I come. Do not spit any of it out."

He quickly unties my hands and removes the blindfold. It takes several seconds for my eyes to adjust to the light. He doesn't say another word. He lays on his back and waits for me. I lay on top of him and start to kiss his chest. I lay kisses on him while I travel down his body. I know he's enjoying it because I can hear his moans. When I reach Big Nasty, it's so hard that I can see the veins. I quickly take him into my mouth, all the way to the back of my throat.

"Oh, shit, Ana!" He says. All those hours I spent watching porn are finally paying off. I take him out of my mouth and stroke the tip with my tongue, tasting his salty pre-cum. I grab his shaft and start to jerk him off as I take him back in my mouth. I take him as far as possible, over and over again. Soon, he explodes in my mouth. I do as he instructed, and swallowed every last drop. I crawl back on top of him and collapse.

We both lay there for several minutes. I roll off of him and lay next to him on the bed.

He looks at me but he looks nervous.

"Are you ok, baby?" He asks.

"Other than the fact that I'll never be able to look at my dad in the eyes again, I'm great." I say and we both laugh.

He relaxes and snuggles into me.

"Just don't slip up and call him daddy. That's my title now," he says teasingly. I reach over and pull his crazy hair from his forehead.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask him.

"You can ask me anything."

"Is this what you used to do when you were in the BDSM lifestyle?"

He takes a deep breath before he finally speaks.

"In a way, yes. I would give commands and the submissive would obey. We had a set of rules of what was allowed, but as long as I stayed in those parameters, everything I said went. But, I wasn't your Dominant just now, Ana. We just did a bit of role playing. It wasn't too much for you, was it?"

"No, I liked it but I do worry you will miss your old life and get bored with me. Other than you, I have zero experience with sex. It's always in the back of my mind that you'll find me lacking," I finally confess.

"I can't imagine a scenario where that would ever happen. Yes, I've been with other women, but you're the only woman that I've ever shared any intimacy with. I had a contract with the others. It was cold and detached. It was just a way to get a physical release. What we have is beyond physical. My entire world changed the moment I saw you talking to Ros that first night. I don't know how to explain it without sounding corny, but it's like you were made for me and I was made for you."

He stops speaking for several seconds and looks at me. I can tell he is considering what he wants to say next. He grabs my hands and brings them to his lips and then presses them to his chest.

He has such an intense look on his face that I'm afraid of what he's going to say next. In a classic Ana move, I decide to speak first and change the direction of this conversation.

"Did they call you daddy, too?"

"No, baby. That's something I came up with tonight. Remember that first lunch with Elliot when you told me I wasn't your dad and I said you can call me daddy later? I thought about that when you were so defiant earlier. They would call me sir or master."

"Master? Really? Don't you get any ideas, mister! I'll never call you that." The very idea makes me angry.

He reaches over and kisses my lips.

"You're adorable. I'm done with being called that. No more contracts or submissives. Just Ana and Christian. Now come here. You give an amazing blow job, but Big Nasty is just dying to get inside you. What do you think about me sinking into that we pussy of yours?" he says as his lips capture mine. In response to his question, I simply open my legs to him. We spend the next few hours connecting, not just physically but emotionally.

I can barely keep my eyes open as he spoons me from behind. I'm just about to fall into a deep sleep when I feel him kiss my cheek.

"I love you, Anastasia Steele," I hear him whisper just as I lose the battle and fall asleep.

I can't believe this man. He is just the most stubborn person on earth and he has the nerve to call me stubborn. Maybe I should spank his ass before we go to work this morning.

"I thought you said you got a few clothes. I have more clothes here than I do at home." There are about a dozen pair of pants, sweaters, shirts, shirts with the Little Tots log, cocktail dresses, designer shoes, hand bags, even an evening gown, all of which have designer labels. Labels that I could never, under any circumstances afford. I look for price tags but he's had them all removed.

"You don't like them?" He asks.

"I love everything. You have incredible taste but I told you that you don't need to buy me things. I just want Christian Grey, the man, not what his money can buy." I say. I have to be careful here. I don't want to hurt his feelings and I know that giving is his way of showing he cares, but I don't want the label of gold digger or kept woman.

"I know that, baby. You want nothing and that makes me want to give you everything. I love doing these things for you. Besides, you won't ever have to worry about packing a bag when you come over," he says.

"You're incredibly sweet, you know that? Thank you, Christian but if you buy me one more thing, I'm going to spank your ass next."

He lets out a loud laugh.

"In that case, it's a good thing I have a firm ass. Hurry up so we can have breakfast. I know you must be hungry from last night's activities," he says with a wink. I grab a pair of black slacks with a button down appropriate for work. I fix my hair, which has some loose waves this morning, and add some lip gloss and mascara. We head into the kitchen holding hands.

Today will be my first full day with that giant watching me. Before we left the apartment, I made sure that Sawyer would just be protecting me, not reporting my every move to Christian, and Christian assured me that would be the case. No spying, just protecting. I was extremely shocked to see reporters outside of Escala, shouting questions about me to the car. When I finally turned on my phone, there was text from my mother asking me to call her. She and Ray had already received calls from reporters asking them about me and my relationship with Christian. I was extremely irritated since I wanted to tell my parents about him in person. Mom was very excited to hear that I finally had a boyfriend and gushed about how she couldn't wait to meet him.

When Christian said something to Taylor, my mom heard and asked if he was there with me. She made me put her on speaker phone so she can talk to him. Thankfully she didn't say anything too embarrassing.

There were more reporters outside of GEH, much to my annoyance. Christian had this smug I told you so look on his face, which I chose to ignore. Luke was already standing guard outside the daycare when we arrived. I did my best not to roll my eyes at him. I'm giving this a week, tops, before I put an end to it.

"Lunch in my office, baby?"

"I'll see you at noon," I say. "Now get out of here before you scare your employees." He gives me one last kiss and squeezes my ass before he takes his leave.

I wish he would say those three little words that he whispered in my ear last night. Do I love him, too? There was an immediate attraction on my part that first night, and I'm so glad he pursued me. He's sweet, patient, strong to have gone through so much and come out on top, gentle, generous, and funny. And I love the dominant side that came out last night. I even love his crazy, intrusive, nosy family. I love how they support and root for him, but does that mean I'm in love with him?

After thinking about it for a few hours, I know I'm in love with this man too. It's way too soon and things happened way to quickly, but I guess the old saying is true. You can't help who you fall in love with.

The morning flies by and before I know it, it's 11 am. Hannah walks into my office with a very cranky ten month old named Tyler.

"Hey, Ana. He's teething and I'm trying to calm him by bouncing him around." I don't know if Hannah has heard about me and Christian, but I so appreciate her professionalism by not bringing it up.

Whatever Hannah is doing is not working because Tyler sticks his chubby little fist in his mouth and starts to cry louder.

"Why don't you let me have him while you go back to your class room," I say. My job is really a director, not caretaker, but I love the babies and take every opportunity to hold one.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Hannah says she hands me Tyler. I put him on my hip and bounce him gently, rubbing his little head. He has some hair coming in and for the first time, I notice that he's a little redhead. I lay my cheek on his head and inhale his sweet baby scent. He calms down a little, but he continues to whine.

I keep walking around my office with him, humming a lullaby. As I continue to hum, my office door opens and Christian and Taylor walk in. His stops midstep when he sees me holding Tyler.

"Hello, Mr. Grey," I say.

"What's going on here?" He asks? Really? Why am I holding a baby in a daycare? What kind of question is that.

"Tyler here is a little fussy so I'm just trying to calm him." Tyler stops, looks from me to Christian to Taylor. He stares at Taylor for a bit and starts to scream.

"Your mean face is scaring the baby, Taylor," Christian says.

"I'll wait outside, sir," Taylor says and practically runs out of my office. This six foot 5 giant is scared of a 20 pound infant?

Tyler is not comforted by Taylor's exit because he continues to scream. The bouncing and humming is not helping.

"You want to try, Christian? He's not calming down for me anymore."

"Try what?"

"Holding him, silly?"

"Ana, are you nuts? I came down here to talk to you, not hold a baby. What if he shits on me?"

"He's in a diaper, Christian. No shit will get on you."

"No, I don't want to hold him."

Tyler screams louder.

"Please, baby?" I ask. I know he won't be able to resist that.

"Fine, but if I drop him, it's your fault." I quickly hand Tyler over to him. The switch shocks him because he's suddenly quiet and stares at Christian. I prepare myself for the scream he's going to let out, but he doesn't. He just continues to stare. I want to laugh because Christian is standing as still as a statue, staring at Tyler right back. Tyler takes his hand and grabs Christian's lower lip. I'm stunned speechless just watching this. After pulling on his lip a few times, he lays his head on Christian's shoulder.

"He likes you, baby," I say. "Now walk around with and rub his back so he can fall asleep." To my surprise he does and starts singing Mary Had a Little Lamb.

If I didn't love this man before, this would be the defining moment for me. I feel an ache in my heart and my girly parts all at the same time. I won't freak him out and mention how Tyler has red hair just like him, and how adorable they are together. After a few minutes, I see Tyler has fallen asleep and has already started to drool on his expensive suit jacket.

I'm brought back to reality by a soft knock on my door. I open it and see that it's Louise, Tyler's mother.

"Excuse me, Ms. Steele. Hannah called and said Tyler was fussy. I came down to see if he needs to be nursed," she says. She gasps when she sees our boss holding her son and rubbing his back.

"Mr. Grey, this is a surprise."

"Uh, I was just helping Ms. Steele," he says, a little embarrassed. He hands Tyler back to Louise, and she thanks us.

After she leaves and closes the door, I run and jump in his arms.

"That was by far the most sexiest thing I've ever seen."

"What?"

"You, holding that baby and singing to him."

"I didn't sing. You're nuts."

"You did sing, Mr. Grey. You sang Mary Had a Little Lamb."

"Did I? That was Mia's favorite when she was a baby. I used to sing it to her all the time."

"I'm going to kiss you now," I say right before I take his lips in a passionate kiss.

"I'll have to come down here and do baby duty more often if that's how you thank me."

"Speaking of which, what are you doing here at this time. Lunch isn't for another hour."

"I'm afraid I have some bad news, baby. I have to fly to New York immediately," he says.

"What? Why?"

"We've been working on a new acquisition for months and we're getting really close to finalizing the deal. I have to go out there and meet with the owners. While I'm there, I'll schedule some other meetings as well so I won't have to go back for a while. Is there any chance you will come with me?" He asks.

"I'd love to go but I can't just leave work. Besides, my parents are coming this weekend and I have to make sure the apartment looks nice for them. When will you be back? I want you to meet them."

"I'll be back by Saturday morning. I figured you coming with was a long shot. I'm going to miss you so much," he says.

"I'm going to miss you, too. I'm worried you won't get any sleep."

"I don't want you to worry about that. I'm a big boy."

"You definitely are a big boy," I say as I reach over to grab his dick. He takes my hand and moves it away, and I pout.

"I see I've created a monster. You're going to have to wait a few days before you can have this again."

"Maybe I don't want to wait."

"You insatiable little thing. You need to learn the fine art of delayed gratification but maybe we can Facetime at night so I can get my Ana fix."

"I'd love nothing more."

That afternoon, Sawyer walks into my office with a package with a pretty, pink bow on it.

"From Mr. Grey, ma'am."

I open it and it's a brand new iPad. There's a note in his handwriting telling me how he can't wait to see my face tonight. This man and his gifts! I'm so regretting not telling him I loved him before he left but it just wasn't the right time. I can't tell him over Facetime either. I'll have to wait and do it in person when he gets back.

Over the next few days, we text, talk, and send selfies. He has breakfast and lunch delivered to me everyday, and sends me a bouquet of flowers daily, either at home or delivered to the office.

Hannah finally winked at me one day and said I was a lucky girl. I totally agree.

As awkward as it is to have Sawyer shadow me, I think I've done my best to get used to it. I won't admit this to Christian, but it's so nice to have someone drive me wherever I need to go. I finally got my car towed to a garage and they called to tell me that the transmission needs to be replaced, and the cost is more than the car is worth. It was with great sadness that I had Sawyer drive me to the garage so that I could officially sell the car to the owner for the parts. Rest in peace, Wanda.

Christian was so sweet when I told him I had to say goodbye to Wanda. He offered to buy me any new car I wanted. I told him that I was looking forward to buying my own car with the money I earn. I made him promise not to buy me a car or anything else, for that matter. He agreed to hold off on the car, but could not make promises on buying me other gifts.

It's Friday night now and I'm in the apartment with Kate, Elliot and Ethan. Kate and I decided to forget about cooking for tomorrow's dinner party and decided to have it catered instead. I just got my first paycheck from GEH and decided to splurge a little. We're sitting in the living room, drinking wine and waiting on the pizza we ordered.

Kate and Ethan are very close and she confided in me that she wanted her brother to like and approve of Elliot. I think Kate is getting her wish, because they seem to be getting along. I heard Ethan tell Elliot how he plans on moving back to Seattle when he gets his PhD in Child Psychology in the spring. He eventually wants to open his own practice, but plans on working at Seattle Children's Hospital for the first few years.

"Is that a knock on the door?" I hear Kate ask. I was so busy eavesdropping on Elliot and Ethan that I didn't even hear the door.

"That must be our pizza. Get the door, Banana. I'm starving," Elliot shouts. When isn't he starving?

I go to open the door, and Christian is standing there with a huge bouquet of wildflowers.

"Christian? What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow. I was just watching the clock so I could call you," I babble.

"As soon as the last meeting ended, I got on the plane. I couldn't wait another second to get to you."

"Is that the pizza, Banana?" Elliot asks as he comes to the door. "Oh, hi, Christian," he says disappointed that it wasn't our food.

I grab the flowers from him, hand them to Elliot and jump into his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.

"Oh, my god! I missed you so much!" I say right before we kiss. He finally steps inside the apartment and walks straight to my bedroom.

"Keep in down in there, kids," Elliot says jokingly.

No words are said once he gets in the bedroom. We make quick work of taking off our own clothes. Once we're both naked, I lay on my back and he climbs on top of me. He checks to make sure I'm wet and ready for him.

"Always so responsive, baby," he says.

"Only for you," I say back.

"Yes, only ever for me. I missed you so much, Ana. I don't ever want to be away from you for that long again," he says just as he sinks into me.

"Oh, god, Christian. I missed you too. Look at me," I say. He stops his thrusting and looks at me.

"I love you," I whisper.

"What did you just say?"

"I said I love you," I repeat.

"Oh, baby. I love you, too," he says as we continue our lovemaking.

After we both orgasm, we lay in bed holding each other close.

"Did you mean it?" he asks shyly.

"Of course, I did. I'm madly in love with you. It's fast and crazy, but I can't help it. I'm going to follow Kate's advice and ditch my timetable."

"I loved you from the first moment I laid eyes on you. And I knew after that first time we made love, I was never going to let you go."

"I don't ever want you to let me go," I say. We lay there relaxed and enjoying the moment when we are startled by some loud banging.

"Pizza's here, lovebirds," Elliot yells.

"Jesus! He practically gave me a heart attack," I say. "Are you hungry? We got plenty since Ethan and Elliot are such big eaters."

"Who the hell is Ethan?"

"Kate's brother. He's been staying here this week. Didn't you see him in the living room?"

"Baby, all I could see was you. All I wanted was to bury myself in you as soon as possible. There's been another man staying here? Are you kidding me?"

"Again, it's Kate's brother and he's a good friend of mine. Just a friend, though. No need to get jealous. I'm all yours," I say trying to diffuse the situation.

"Damn right, you're all mine. And this is ironic coming from the woman who had a jealous fit in my office because I had a business meeting with a female attorney."

"Well Slutty McLawyer Skank was after my man and I wasn't having it."

"Well your man is completely devoted to you. You have nothing to worry about."

"I better not or Skankzilla is going down!"

"Where do you come up with these things? Let's go eat."

We spend the rest of the evening eating pizza, listening to music and talking. Christian spent the night either giving Ethan the death glare or interrogating him. At one point he even asked him if he preferred blondes or brunettes. I think Ethan caught on and made it a point to tell everyone that he sees me as he sees Kate, an annoying little sister. I think that might have appeased Christian because he stopped with the interrogation.

Elliot comes up to Christian and puts his hand on his shoulder.

"C, I want you to know that I also only see Ana like an annoying little sister, too. She's just slightly less annoying than Mia."

"Hey!" I say.

"Fuck off, Elliot" Christian says.

CHRISTIAN

Elliot can go fuck himself. Like he wouldn't be jealous if there was some random man staying at this apartment. He's only acting like this because the random man just happens to be related to Kate.

So, this Ethan claims to only see Ana as a sister, but I'll be keeping my eyes on him. He's a good looking guy, tall with an athletic build. No way will I be leaving him alone with Ana anymore. Either she comes back to Escala with me or I'll stay here.

This relationship is going way too well to let some blonde surfer type derail my efforts.

After three long agonizing days away, all I wanted to do was come back to Seattle and reunite with my baby. And what a reunion in was! How can this angel on earth possibly love somebody like me? Even now as I watch her talking animatedly and laughing with Kate, my heart swells. She doesn't have on a stitch of makeup and her hair is in a messy bun, and she's still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. And she says she loves me. What did I ever do to deserve her or her love? Not a damn thing, but I have she's mine now and nobody is taking her away from me.

She approaches me now, her eyes bright. She reaches for me and I pull her against me, kissing the top of her head and inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo.

"Let's go to bed," she whispers. And just to show this Ethan asshole who Ana belongs to, I pick her up and toss her over my shoulder and slap her ass. She did refer to me as a caveman once.

"Good night, everyone," I say.

"Take it easy, C. Remember you have to look her father in the eye tomorrow," Elliot says and everyone, except me, laughs.

Damn that Elliot because his words play over and over in my mind all night. I've never been in the position of meeting a girl's parents before, and now I'm ready to shit a brick, I'm so nervous.

Well, my nerves didn't get in the way of some really good fucking last night, but now it's Saturday afternoon and everyone will be at the apartment in just a few hours. Not only am I meeting her parents, but my entire freaking family will be there. Who knows what Grace will say to completely humiliate me?

"You want to spot me, C?" Elliot asks. Elliot wanted to workout before dinner, so we came back to Escala to use the gym. No way was I leaving Pretty Boy Kavanaugh there, so I pretended to make nice and invite him along, too.

"Yeah," I say.

"You look like you're going to the execution chamber."

"Shut up."

"You've never met a girl's parents before but I have. Listen to me, just put on an act like you're a choir boy," he looks around at Ethan, who's on the treadmill, not paying any attention to us. "You know where I met them for the first time? At their church. I showed up in my Sunday best, made show about talking to the minister and complementing him on the sermon. Her parents just ate that shit up. Meanwhile, an hour before we showed up at that church, I was balls deep in their daughter."

"What the fuck is the point of that story, Elliot?"

I shake my head at his lewdness. How can anyone raised by Grace and Carrick have so little class.

I can hear my heart pounding in my chest. That workout did little to take an edge off the anxiety and nerves. Whoever thought Christian Grey would be ready to shit his pants over the thought of meeting a girl's father? A father who is ex-military and a gun nut? Why couldn't he be a nerdy accountant? I'm in a trance as I hear a knock on the door, and watch as Ana opens the door. She's wearing a black pair of stretch pants that show off her ass. Of all the things she can wear, she chooses that. I'll never be able to keep my eyes off her ass. Oh, god, this is it!

"Hello, sweetheart," Grace Grey says. Oh, thank god. Mom is here, and she can treat me after Ray shoots me. Sweet relief! I hug her extra tight and shake my dad's hand. I take a long sip of my beer.

We all chat for a while, and I see that Mia and Ethan are giving each other weird looks. I'd much rather Pretty Boy Kavanaugh go after my sister than my woman.

There's another knock on the door. This is it now. This has got to her Ana's parents because everybody else is here. It's like I'm having an out of body experience as I watch an older version of Ana walk through the door. She has the same brown hair, eyes, build and coloring. This is exactly how Ana will look in about 25 years. Behind her is a man in his mid-fifties with salt and pepper hair. He's not a big man, maybe around five feet ten inches, but he's stocky. I almost drop my beer as Ana leads them toward me.

"Mom, dad, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Christian. Christian, this is my mom, Carla, and my dad, Ray."

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Steele and Mrs. Morton. Ana has told me so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you too, son," Ray says as she shakes my hand. His handshake is firm, and his eyes are sharp. Ray Steele is not a man anyone can bullshit or intimidate.

"Ana, when you finally get your first boyfriend, you go all out, huh! He's so handsome," Carla says to Ana. She turns towards me and hugs me. She pulls back and feels my bicep.

"Mother!" Ana says, embarrassed?

"What? Clearly, he works out. It's nice to meet you, Christian," Carla finally says.

Ana grabs her parents and introduces them to the other members of our party. In Grace's excitement, she hugs everybody.

Garrick has a little bit more decorum and welcomes everybody to Seattle.

There's an awkward silence.

"We have the food set out in the kitchen, in anybody's hungry," Kate says.

"I'm starving," Elliot, the bottomless pit, says.

We all walk towards the kitchen and Ana comes over and takes my hand. I look at her and she mouths I love you, and that instantly calms me.

Ana and Kate ordered a variety of dishes from a local Italian restaurant. I help myself to some lasagna and salad, and remember that last time Ana had lunch in my office. She must have the same thought because I notice her blush as she plates her own food.

This isn't a formal sit down meal, so we all take a seat wherever we can find one. Ana sits next to me at the table in the dining room. Her parents and mine, join us. Everyone else is sitting nearby in the living room. I notice that Mia and Ethan are sitting next to each other. I wonder whatever happened between Mia and Sam?

"How did you two meet, Christian?" Ray asks. Damn! Why did he have to ask me that right after I take my first bite of lasagna? I swallow quickly.

"Uh, we met at the grand opening for the daycare a few weeks ago," I say. I can't believe I said ugh! I talk with CEO's, politicians and all sorts of people in a position of power. I can make small talk with Ana's father. Get it together, Grey.

"Ray, Christian owns the company where the daycare is in. Remember it was in the Nooz article. I can't believe my daughter is being written about in the Nooz," Carla says excitedly.

"You know I don't pay any attention to those rags, Carla. So, he's your boss, Annie? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Did he really just say that. My heart rate increases. What if he convinces Ana that I'm not right for her? No fucking way am I going to let that happen. As much as I want her father to approve of me, I'm not going to let him put doubts in her mind about me.

"Ray," Carla says.

"What? Is it ever a good idea to date one's boss?" Ray says, not backing down. His eyes lock with mine, challenging me. He's testing me, probably trying to make sure I'm not some pansy.

"Actually, the daycare is separate from GEH. It just happens to be in the same building. My second in command, Ros, is actually Ana's boss, not me."

"Sounds like a technicality to me. If you're this Ros' boss, then you're my Annie's boss."

"I guess I am, but it doesn't matter. We met that night at the party, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about her. She's my everything," I say and kiss Ana's temple. Take that, Ray!

"Don't mind Ray, Christian. He's always been so protective of Ana. All the boys in Montesano were scared to talk to her because Ray can be so intimidating. But Ana's always had her daddy wrapped around her finger," Carla says, and I choke on my lasagna. I begin to cough uncontrollably. So much so that Grace become concerned. She gets up and starts to pat me on the back. I shrug her hands off of me. Can this me anymore embarrassing. Bad boy billionaire chokes on lasagna as his mommy pats his back. The Nooz would have a field day.

"I'm fine mom. You're right Carla, Ana is definitely a daddy's girl," I say as I wink at Ana. I look up and Ray is watching me. Fuck!

"Christian couldn't keep his eyes off of Ana that night. Isn't that right, Cary?"

"I've never seen a man so smitten, dear," Carrick says.

"I forgot to take out the drinks. I'll be right back," Ana says.

"I'll help you, baby," anything to get me away from Ray.

"Since you're serving, Christian, I'll take a bottled water," Elliot says. Asshole.

I follow Ana into the kitchen and watch as she bends down to grab the bottled water out of the cooler. I can't help but look at her ass as she's bending. My hand automatically touches her ass. She stands up in surprise and I remember where I am. I turn around, and Ray is looking right at me, and he doesn't look impressed with the fact that I just touched his daughter's ass in a room full of people.

I look at Elliot and he makes the gesture of cutting off his own neck. Immature asshole.

I help Ana carry the drinks and I set them all on the table. Elliot can serve himself!

I sit back down and refuse to make eye contact with Ray again. You know what? Fuck it. Ana is my girlfriend. We're a couple in love and her father has to learn to deal with that. I put my arm around her shoulder and pull her closer to me.

"Tell me about what exactly you do at GEH, son," Ray asks. I give Ana another kiss on the temple and tell Ray and Carla about how GEH started, what we do and some of our recent acquisitions. Carla is fascinated and asks all types of questions. Ray doesn't seem that impressed.

"You know, I've gotten at least half a dozen phone calls from reporters asking me questions about you two. I looked you up and you're high profile. Ana, are you prepared to deal with the press and a lack of privacy?"

"Yes, dad. Christian and I have talked about it. I won't talk to the press and for now he has security with me. It's all taken care of. We're really happy together, dad," Ana says and my heart swells. I kiss her hand.

"I'm so happy for you kids," Grace says, with tears in her eyes again. Not now, mom! I know you're happy your freak show of a son has found someone but please refrain from embarrassing him in public!

"Ray, Carla, I'd love to give you guy a tour of Seattle. I know you're a baseball fan, I can arrange a tour of Safeco Field tomorrow. Maybe a game during baseball season?"

"Thank you, son. I'll take you up on the game in the spring, but Carla and I really would like to see where Ana works. We're sorry we couldn't make the party for the grand opening, Annie," Ray says.

"Can we do that, Christian? Give them a tour of GEH?" Ana asks with wide eyes.

"We can do whatever you want, baby," I say and Ana claps her hands excitedly.

I remember Ana telling me that Ray likes to fish, so I ask him about his favorite fishing spots. Elliot and Carrick join the conversation, and Carrick says he wants to have another fishing weekend with his sons for his birthday. If Ray doesn't kill me, maybe I can invite him to join us.

"I almost forgot, Ana," Carla says. "I brought some of your childhood photos to show Christian."

"Mom, Christian's not interested in that," Ana says.

"I'd love to see them, Carla," I say and smile innocently at Ana. This will be payback for last weekend when my mother showed her all kinds of embarrassing pictures about me.

"See, Christian, I'm not the only one. Carla, I have pictures of Christian too. These are different than the ones I showed you last weekend, Ana. Kate, I have some of Elliot too. Let's go sit on the couch," Mom says as she pulls out a giant picture album from her bag. How did I miss that giant ass bag?

"Family pictures, how lame," Mia says. "Since we're done eating, Ethan and I are going for a walk," she says as she grabs Ethan's hand and runs out the door.

"Can I have a word with you alone, Christian?" Ray asks. Oh, shit!

 **Here is chapter 11. I hope you enjoyed it, If you did, please leave a quick review. I wonder what Ray wants to say to Christian? Do you think Ray was an ass or just being a concerned father in this chapter? The rest of the Steele's visit is next, but there will also be a time jump in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

CHRISTIAN

3 MONTHS LATER

"Are you almost packed, Ana? I told you Mrs. Jones could have packed a suit case for you," I yell from the bedroom, towards the closet.

"Almost done," she says briskly. She's been giving me attitude all damn day, and I'm tired of it. Her dad will be here in the morning, and we have an early flight to Aspen. I'd like to get a good night's sleep, possibly a good fuck, so I can be ready to go in the morning. I might get some sleep, but getting fucked isn't looking so good now.

It's funny how Ray and I have become quite good friends since that first meeting 3 months ago. I thought I had blown it, but it turns out I didn't. When he asked me to step outside, I thought for sure he was going to give me hell for daring to grab Ana's ass in front of everybody. I was ready to explain that it was just a reflex, that no man on earth could resist that ass, but I thought better of that.

 _3 months ago – dinner party_

 _"_ _Ray, leave Christian alone," Carla says in my defense. "Ana only had one boyfriend during her four years of high school. I'm convinced that it's because all the boys in Montesano were scared to death of Ray."_

 _Note to self. Find out who Ana's boyfriend was in high school. Kill him. Bury the body._

 _"_ _Dad! This is embarrassing," Ana says._

 _"_ _I'm only going to get to know your boyfriend, Annie. Don't worry. I left my gun at home," Ray says jokingly._

 _"_ _Guns!" Exclaims Grace, putting her hands to her chest. Before anybody else can chime in, we step outside._

 _I follow Ray and step into the hallway of the apartment building. I've never been in the position of needing a girl's father to like me, and since Ana is it for me, I'll never be in this position again. As much as I want Ray to like and accept me, I'm not going to play the spineless jelly fish. If he wants to bring it, I'm ready._

 _We step into the hallway and I wait for him to speak. I look at him and make direct eye contact._

 _"_ _What are your intentions with my daughter?" He's definitely direct, I'll give him that._

 _"_ _I'm in love with your daughter, Mr. Steele." I say._

 _"_ _Love? You kids have only known each other a few weeks."_

 _I've had enough of his shit._

 _"_ _Yes, love. I can't speak for her, but I fell in love with her that first night, sir. I wasn't' even looking for a girlfriend, but when I saw her, it's like time stood still. All I could see was her. I've gotten to know her and not only is she the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, she's also one of the smartest and kindest. She's everything to me, sir."_

 _"_ _And what of this security that you mentioned earlier? Is she in danger? I looked you up on the way over here. You're kind of a big deal. Is that going to be an issue for my daughter?"_

 _What's with this family and their disregard for safety? I swear, if he tells me he's going to bring her that fucking gun, I will lose my shit here and now._

 _"_ _She's not in any danger, Mr. Steele, but I have to be honest. I do get the occasional threat, as does my family. Everyone I'm close to has some sort of security, either covert or close personal protection. Ana has a CPO who escorts her everywhere she needs to go. Our relationship just became public, and I want to keep her safe. I don't want reporters or nosy people getting in her face." I say. I leave out the part about potential kidnappers._

 _"_ _I understand that. What I don't understand is why this security is only supposed to be temporary. Are you saying your relationship with my daughter is only temporary?"_

 _"_ _My relationship with my girlfriend is anything but temporary, sir. What exactly are you implying?" I'm getting pissed now. Ana is a damn adult, and I'm not one of these high school boys he used to intimidate._

 _"_ _If that's the case, why are you leading her to believe this is temporary?"_

 _"_ _Because the night I told her about her need for security, we got into a big fight. She assumed it would be temporary and I didn't correct her. I thought that in time, she'd come to see the necessity of a full time CPO." This is the most I've ever explained myself to another person in a long time, but I love Ana and I'll do anything for her._

 _"_ _I see," he says and finally cracks a smile._

 _"_ _Let me guess. She had a fit, said she didn't need security, and when she begrudgingly agreed, she only agreed for a short time?"_

 _"_ _In a nutshell."_

 _"_ _Big mistake, son. I don't know you too well, but I assume someone in your position isn't used to being told no. My Annie can be stubborn, and if you let her, she'll walk all over you. She'll bat those baby blues, pout, and you'll cave in. She's fiercely independent and she'll fight anyone or anything she thinks is a threat to that independence. Annie is a wonderful girl, Christian. A father couldn't ask for a better daughter, but she hasn't always had it so easy. I don't know how much she's told you, so I don't want to say too much. She spent a couple of years with her mother and her last bastard of a husband. Those weren't easy years for her, but they've helped shape who she is today."_

 _"_ _What went on in those years, sir?" I ask._

 _"_ _That's Annie's story to tell, but if she chooses to share that part of her past with you, you'll understand why values her independence so much."_

 _I wonder what he's talking about. I need to get Ana to tell me about what went in Raleigh all those years ago._

 _"_ _Take my advice, Christian, you need to revisit this security issue. Revisit it real soon and let her know in no uncertain terms that she can't be walking around unprotected anymore. She'll fight you but judging the way she looks at you, I think she'll comply when she realizes how important it is to you. I worry about her enough in this city. I'm glad she's met someone like you." This is news to me._

 _"_ _Really? You sure fooled me in there."_

 _"_ _I needed to make sure you're weren't a pushover," he jokes. "I see the way you two look at each other. You two are practically attached at the hip. Annie's always been so guarded, and you bring out a different side to her. Let's go back inside so the women don't think I'm out here killing you," he says and slaps me on the shoulder._

 _"_ _Thank you, sir. That means a lot coming from Ana's father."_

 _"_ _Enough of this sir, nonsense. It's Ray."_

The rest of the visit went extremely well. Grace only embarrassed me slightly with her unbridled enthusiasm with me having a girlfriend. The following day, Ana and I took her parents and gave them a tour of GEH and the daycare center, followed by lunch before her parents headed back to Montesano. Since they ended up spending the night at Ana's apartment on Saturday, I had no choice but to head home to an empty penthouse, and a nightmare filled night.

As soon as they left on Sunday, I took Ana to Escala where we spent the rest of the afternoon making love, napping and eating.

The following week after the Steeles' visit, there were numerous articles about Ana in various rag magazines. There were reporters in front of Escala, her apartment and GEH. Everyone she knew received phone calls from reporters, offering to pay them for an interview. The news soon spread from just locally to nationally. For about a week, we were headline news. I got calls from all the major networks asking for a sit down interview. I actually considered it, thinking that if we allowed the interview, all of the media attention would die. After Ana gave me an emphatic hell no, I dropped it.

There was reporting on her background, her father and her mother's multiple marriages. I used that as my opportunity to ask her about what happened in Raleigh between her other and Stephen Morton. My greatest fear was that he tried to sexually or physical assault her, but that wasn't the case. I learned that Morton was a small, insecure man who used his money and position to brow beat Carla and Ana, to make them feel small. Carla sent Ana back to Ray but stayed with the asshole for another two years, but those two years wrecked havoc on her self-esteem.

Now I understand why Ana was so reluctant to get involved with me, and why she's so adamant about having her own independence. I never wanted to strip her of her independence. That's a part of who she is, who I fell in love with. She can have all of the independence she wants with a CPO. I'll keep that part to myself, though. She might not appreciate it.

As annoying as the media attention was, it worked in my favor. I used that opportunity to show her how important it is for her to have protection with her all the time, and surprisingly she didn't fight me. It didn't hurt that her father had also called and told her to mind the CPO. Thank goodness for Ray.

Winning the initial battle of the CPO was the highlight of the week, however. We were at my apartment eating dinner when the head of my PR team contacted me at home. We turned on the TV and there was a show about Carla's multiple marriages again, but this time they accused Ana and Carla of being professional con artists to troll for rich men. They painted both of them as gold diggers and social climbers who went from rich men to rich men.

I looked at Ana who was frozen in front of the TV. Her eyes filled with tears right before she ran from the room towards our bedroom. I turned off the fucking TV and ran after. I found her in the bedroom closet pulling all the clothes I had gotten her off the hangers.

"Ana, what are you doing?"

"I knew this would happen. I fucking knew it! I've worked and pretty much supported myself ever since I was a teenager! Nobody handed me anything and I sure as hell don't go around chasing rich men! My mother's marriages have nothing to do with me, but the entire fucking world is judging me. They don't know shit about me!" Now she's moved on to the shoes and is making a pile of all of her things in the middle of my closet. I go up to her and grab her hands.

"Stop it, Ana! Who cares what the world thinks?"

"I care because it's my reputation, Christian," she says, and she starts to cry. She lays her head in my chest and sobs as I hold her.

"What will your family think of me? What will my coworkers think?" She sobs.

"My family knows and loves you, baby. They won't care about this stupid story, and everybody who knows you knows what kind of person you are. The media can't change that. I promise this will blow over soon," I say as I rub her back.

"Why do you love me, Christian? You can do better," she sobs into my chest.

"I've loved you since the first second I laid eyes on you, Anastasia Rose Steele. I love you because you're my other half. I became whole that night we met. I told you before that you were made for me and I was made for you. I was born to love you, baby. No one else," I say as I tilt her chin so she can look up at me. Her beautiful blue eyes are still filled with tears.

"It's you and me," I say.

"No one else," she replies.

"That's right. You and me. No one else. Now, why did you pull all these clothes and shoes out of the closet?"

"You spend too much money on me. I want you to take everything back. You know I love you so much and it has nothing to do with your bank account, right? In fact, that's the thing I love least about you. That and the fact that you fart in your sleep," she says. I throw my head back and laugh.

"I'm not going to take them back, baby. You know how you bring me lunch in my office? Or how you make sure we spend every night together so I won't have nightmares? Or the way you rub my shoulders after I've had a particularly long day? I know those are ways you show love for me, and I love that about you. Buying you these things is how part of how I show my love for you. I know you want nothing, and that makes me want to give you everything. Don't let these reporters get in the middle of us."

When she hugged me tighter and got on her toes to kiss me, I knew I had gotten through.

"Let's go take a bath and wash this night off of us."

"Ok," she says as she followed me into the bathroom.

The following week, that asshole, Paul Clayton, gave an interview to the Nooz detailing their brief relationship. It was a stupid and pointless article, detailing the clubs she was involved in in high school. He even went so far as to give the Nooz some old pictures of him and Ana. He went so far as to say that he had recently been in touch with Ana but she stopped taking his calls. The asshole even implied that once she met someone with deeper pockets than him, she lost interest. Thankfully Ana didn't get too upset over that. She rolled her eyes and said that she never even spoke to him. He just left her a few voicemail messages.

I didn't take it as lightly as Ana, though. I discussed the possibility of suing him with Carrick, but he said that would be a waste of time and resources, considering the statements he made in the article were mostly true, but I didn't let it go. The next day, after my lunch with Ana, Taylor and I made a trip to Clayton's Hardware Store, where I told Paul that the next time he said one word about Ana to the media, I was going to come after him and wouldn't stop until his hardware store was out of business and he was living in the street. I promised to file frivolous law suit after frivolous law suit until he didn't have a penny to his name.

My threats worked because we've heard nothing more from Paul Clayton since I paid him that visit.

Tomorrow we all leave for Aspen for no other than Elliot and Kate's bachelor and bachelorette parties. Apparently, the choir boy got Kate pregnant, and after Mr. Kavanaugh punched Elliot in the face, Elliot decided he was going to propose to Kate. The men are going to do some hiking and fishing, as well as a poker night. The women doing some shopping, hitting the spa and Mrs. Kavanaugh will be hosting a bridal shower for Kate. Kate wanted to go clubbing, but she nixed that idea. She didn't see the point of going to a club when she couldn't drink. Since Ray loves fishing, I invited him to come along. Unfortunately, Carla has to work this weekend and couldn't join us.

Carrick and I sat Elliot down and asked him if he was going to marry Kate because he wants to or because he feels he has to because of her pregnancy.

"No, I'm not doing it because her dad gave me a black eye. She's the one. We were going to move in together once my house in Bellevue is finished and I was going to propose to her on Christmas because that's her favorite holiday. I was going to have mom and Ana help me plan the entire thing, but with her getting pregnant, I'm just moving everything up now," Elliot said to us.

"I'm glad to hear that, son. As much as your mother and I love and approve of Kate, we don't want you to feel pressured into getting married. We want you to get married because you both want to spend your lives together," dad had said.

I leaned back and my chair and smile. It's payback time.

"I guess the Kavanaughs no longer thing you're a choir boy, huh?"

"What's this, now?" Dad asks.

"Nothing, dad. Shut up Christian before we're spouting matching black eyes," Elliot says menacingly.

"You can embarrass me in front of the entire family and my girlfriend and I can't tell our dear father about your antics? Listen to this dad," I said and told Carrick the story about Elliot meeting the Kavanaughs at church after a morning of boinking their daughter. After dad's shock wore off, he laughed so hard, tears came out of his eyes.

"No wonder he punched your lights out, Elliot. I would have done the same thing if it were Mia. You went from our cheap whore to our choir boy," he said and we all burst out laughing.

Mia and Ethan have been dating since they met that night at Ana's apartment. Ethan seems like a good kid. He'll be officially moving back to Seattle next month to start his job. Mom is over the moon about all three of her children being in relationships. You'd think that with Elliot's upcoming wedding, she'd leave me and Ana alone, but that hasn't been the case. She makes it a point to have lunch with Ana weekly. I guess this is her way of keeping tabs on how we're doing as a couple. She's hinted multiple times that it would be nice if Kate and Elliot's baby had a cousin close in age for them to play with.

When she made that suggestion on Sunday dinner one night, Ana almost choked on her chicken before excusing herself to go into the bathroom. I made the point that Ray wouldn't punch me like Kate's dad did, he'd shoot me instead.

Now here we are, the night before leaving for Aspen, and I have to deal with an angry woman. I've actually had enough of her shit, and I'm ready to tell her so.

I walk into the closet where she's zipping up the new Gucci luggage that I got for her.

"Let's go to bed, baby. We have an early day ahead."

"I'm coming." Judging by the way she said that, I'm pretty sure I won't be coming tonight.

"I guess you're still mad? That's funny because I'm the one who should be upset at you," I say, my voice full of irritation.

"Upset at me for daring to run a quick errand alone, like the adult that I am?" she asks.

"Ana, we've been over this over and over again. You have a CPO for your protection. Ever since we came out as a couple, there has been articles about you in the papers at least once a week. There have been some threats against you. That fucking asshole you dated is giving interviews and you choose that time to sneak out of the damn building and got bombarded by reporters. Why the hell couldn't you have waited for Sawyer to escort you to CVS?"

"You think I want some guy you hired coming with me to buy tampons? It's hard enough for me getting used to having him around all the time. I don't need him watching me as I choose between super and regular absorbency. Besides, I didn't sneak out. That's something a child does. I walked out to go buy something that I needed. You completely over reacted and turned into your caveman ways." I've had enough.

I had to fall for the most stubborn woman on the planet. I'm still so irritated at her. We've fallen into a good routine. Everyday Ana would have lunch in my office. This would be the time that Luke would use to take his own lunch break. That day I had to cancel our lunch on short notice because Ros and I were working on a deal and some complications arose. Since Luke had already left for lunch, Ana walked the one block to CVS where she was accosted by an eager reporter. Several pictures of her were taken, and there were articles saying that she was buying a home pregnancy test, and that her plan to trap me with a baby had worked. In the middle of working on that deal, I had to have my PR release a statement confirming that Ana was not pregnant. That was after I received a call from an excited Grace thinking she was going to have two grand children this year. She was very disappointed to learn that wouldn't be the case.

Ana and I got into a huge fight that night about her running out alone. In all honesty, I understand how she feels. What's so wrong about her going to the drug store? She should be able to do all of the things she had done before we met, but the reality is that she can't. It's just not safe for her to do that. As much as I want to give her everything, the only thing that I can't give her is a world where she can go out unescorted.

The next day, during our lunch date, I had a little surprise for her when she walks into my office.

 _"_ _What's with all of those women in your waiting room?" She asks._

 _"_ _They are all here to interview for the job as your CPO." I inform her._

 _"_ _What? I already have Luke. Please tell me you didn't fire him because I left the building!"_

 _"_ _No, I didn't. I figured that you might be more comfortable having a woman around in addition to Luke." If she's too embarrassed to shop for certain items with Luke around, a woman should put her at ease, right? Judging by the angry look on her face, probably not._

 _"_ _You take it upon yourself to hire another bodyguard without even discussing it with me? Am I a part of this relationship or do I just need to do as I'm told? I don't even want the bodyguard I have. What on earth makes you think I'll be more comfortable having two?" Maybe I didn't think this through, but I'll be damned if I'm going to back down now._

 _"_ _Ana, a female CPO can escort you into the ladies room and other places that Luke can't enter. You won't have to be without protection whenever Luke needs to step out to use the bathroom or take a coffee break," I say, beseeching her to see reason._

 _"_ _Bullshit! You think having two will mean I'm not alone and can't go off by myself. Are you punishing me for daring to walk one city block by myself?" She asked angrily. This little 5 foot 2 inch is gearing up for a fight and I'm ready to give her one._

 _"_ _No, I'm not punishing you, and I don't appreciate the accusation. But god damn it, Ana, you can't just run off by yourself anymore! I nearly had a heart attack when I heard you were on your own yesterday and got accosted by that fucking reporter," I say._

 _"_ _Stop being so damn dramatic, Christian. I was not accosted. The reporter merely approached me to ask some questions. There's a huge difference."_

 _"_ _Some asshole approached you! This time it was a reporter, but next time it could be someone dangerous. It could be someone who wants to hurt or kidnap you, and hold you for ransom. We've been over this protection thing so many damn times. Your father has even discussed it with you, but you just won't take it seriously."_

 _"_ _What do you mean I don't take it seriously? I can't go anywhere without Sawyer shadowing my every step so don't tell me I don't take it seriously. Excuse me for needing some privacy to buy my own feminine hygiene items without some bodyguard watching my every move."_

 _"_ _This is part of being with me. You've accepted me and my past. You've embraced my nosy and highly inappropriate family. This is just part of it. Please, baby. Let's not fight about it anymore. Let's eat a quick lunch and let's do the interviews. You make the decision on who we hire. Look, I ordered from your favorite place," I say trying to appease her._

 _"_ _I was not fighting you on it, Christian. I just wanted to be part of the discussion. I don't appreciate coming up here to have lunch with you and then being informed that I'm getting a new bodyguard. I understand the need for one, I really do, but I want to be part of the decision making process. It would have been nice if you mentioned this to me yesterday or this morning. How would you feel if I just started making decisions about your life and not telling you about it until the very last second?" Now I feel like a complete ass._

 _"_ _You're right. I'm sorry for doing that. This is about our life, Ana, and I won't go around making unilateral decisions anymore, baby. Let's just meet with the potential CPO's. If you don't like any of them, we can just table this for now and look for a new batch to interview. I'll have Taylor send you CV's on all potential candidates from now on."_

 _"_ _Fine," she says. In the end, she ended up selecting Belinda Prescott. I'm not sure if it's because she likes her or if she just wanted the whole thing over and done with, but I'll take whatever victory I can take. Prescott was actually a good choice. She's former marine and was close protection to several high profile celebrities._

I go up to her, pick her up and toss her over my shoulder. She wants to accuse me of being a caveman, so I'll act like a damn caveman. I walk to the bed and lay her down, take off all my clothes, turn off the lights and get in the bed behind her. She's fully clothed, which has never happened before. We've spent every night either completely naked or just in our underwear. Like I do every night, I put my arm around her and pull her close, my chest to her back.

"I'm still mad," she says.

"Noted. I love you, though," I say, and I pull her even closer.

"I love you, too." And that's all I needed to hear before I turn her to face me. I put a piece of stray hair behind her ear and stroke her cheek.

"I would die if anything happened to you, Ana. I love you so much, baby." I say.

"I know you do and I love you too. I'm sorry I've been so difficult, and I'm not mad at you. Just mad at the situation. I just wish that we could have the same privacy that any other couple has when they're dating, but I understand that I'm dating someone who's well known, so our relationship is atypical. I talked to Mia this afternoon and she told me she felt the same I as I do now. She assured me that I'll get used to it. I'm going to try, Christian. It's just a big adjustment, ok?"

"I know it is. Thank you, Ana," I say just before I lean in and kiss her. She returns the kiss and I soon have her naked and screaming my name.

I wake up the next morning to an empty bed and the smell of bacon. After showering, I walk into the kitchen to find Ana and Ray drinking coffee. I join them and Ray teases me for sleeping in. I don't tell him that I only overslept because his daughter couldn't get enough of my dick last night. I smirked over my coffee mug thinking that it was that last blow job that tired me out so much. It's like she sucked the life out of me. Nope! I'm definitely not telling him that.

"Stop it," I whisper in Ana's ear as we sit on the plane. All morning long she's been teasing me. Every time Ray isn't watching us, she either puts her hand on my knee or licks my ear. She was even so bold as to grab my crotch while we were in the car riding to the airport. Thankfully Ray was messing around with his new smartphone and didn't notice, but I spent the rest of the ride to the airport willing my dick not to get hard.

"I'm so going to spank you later," I whisper again.

"You promise?"

"I see I've created a monster, huh? After I spank your sweet, little ass red for teasing me, I'm going to eat that pussy and bring on the brink of orgasm over and over again." I whisper in her ear.

"What are you two whispering about over there?" Elliot asks.

We are joined on my private plane with my parents, Ray, Elliot, Kate, Mia and Ethan and five members of my security team. Kate's parents will be joining us tonight, along with some of Kate's childhood friends and cousins. Ana wanted to throw a bridal shower for Kate, but Mrs. Kavanaugh said she wanted to be the one to throw the shower for her daughter, but she asked Ana to throw the baby shower. I'm not sure what Mrs. Kavanaugh has planned but I know it's going to be at a restaurant in downtown Aspen.

"None of your business, Elliot. If I wanted everyone to know I wouldn't be whispering."

"It's probably something dirty you don't want Ray to hear," the idiot says with a smirk. I look at Ray and he just looks at us and shakes his head, but he has a small smile on his face. Ana is as red as a tomato. I take a pillow and throw it at him and it lands right in the middle of his face.

"Cut it out boys," Grace says.

Luckily, it's a short flight and just a few hours later, we're already at the house. We are greeted by the house manager, Mr. and Mrs. Bentley. After everyone is introduced, I give Ray and Ana a tour of the house. Everyone agrees to go freshen up and meet in the kitchen in an hour for lunch. I wait for everyone to leave before sweeping Ana up bridal style and carrying her to the one room I intentionally omitted from the tour with Ray. I want to share this room alone with Ana.

"Holy shit," she says as I walk us into the library. "You're just now showing me this? This is amazing! Look at that view. I can spend the rest of my life in this room," she says as she goes to examine the bookshelves. She picks up a copy of Rebecca and goes to stand in front of the window, overlooking the mountains.

"I love this house, Christian," she says. I'm happy to hear that because I want this to be our house. Pretty soon everything I own will be ours.

"But you know what I don't get? I don't get why you have it. I get your penthouse in Seattle and New York, but why this one? Why does a bachelor like you have this house that you only visit about once a year?" She asks.

"I was waiting for you," I say simply. It's the honest truth. She turns and looks at me with the most beautiful smile on her face.

"Let's make love right here, in this room," she says, pressing her body into mine.

"How can I possibly say no to that, Ms. Steele?"

"I believe you owe me a spanking."

"Not enough time for a spanking baby, but I promise this weekend won't end without me turning that ass red. For right now, though, I just want to sink into your moist pussy and lose myself in you."

ANA

"Oh, my god, Christian. Let's hurry up and get downstairs. Kate just texted me that everyone wants to go shopping before we go to the spa. Kate wants to find a dress to wear to the shower tomorrow." I say as I run into his bathroom to brush my hair. We just made the sweetest love in the library and now we're late to meet everyone downstairs for lunch.

He comes and stands behind me in the bathroom, looking absolutely edible in his blue jeans, pullover and hiking boots.

"Don't lick your lips at me, Ms. Steele, or we won't leave this bedroom today." I didn't even realize I licked my lips, but I guess it's better than drooling.

"Before we go, I have something to ask you," he says. I turn around to face him, curious as to what he wants to ask.

"Kate and Elliot are getting married in two weeks, and we've spent practically every night either at your place or mine. You know that I can only have a decent night of rest if you're by my side," he rambles. I've never known this man to be nervous, but that's exactly how he's acting. He grabs onto both of my hands before continuing.

"I'd love nothing more than for you to move into Escala with me. I want us to share our lives together fully. Move in with me, please? I can't be without you, baby."

"Are you sure?" I ask. "Don't you think it's a bit soon?"

"No, I don't think it's too soon. I've been thinking about it for 2 months now but I know how cautious you are with everything. We're together all the time, and with Kate moving out in two weeks, it's the perfect time new beginnings. I want you in my life always, so why wait any longer to start."

"Always?" Does that mean what I think it does? Am I ready for that? Is he? I shake that thought out of my head.

"Yes, always. What do you say? You can redecorate or do whatever you want when you move in. Whatever it will take to make it your home."

"Yes! I want to be with you, too. I love you so much!"

He picks me up and spins me around the bathroom.

"You've made me the happiest man alive, Ana."

"Let's not tell anyone about our plans to move in together yet. This trip is about Elliot and Kate, so let's hold off. Maybe we can announce it at the next Sunday dinner."

"Whatever you want, baby. Since you're in such an agreeable mood, I have one more thing for you," he says as he pulls an envelope out of his back pocket. I hope it to find a black American Express card with my name on it.

"No, Christian. That's too much."

"I want you to have this, so you don't have to worry about what you spend this weekend, or ever again. I want you to buy whatever you want and not give it a second thought. I know you don't need this from me, and I know you're not with me because of what I can give you, but the truth is, I want to do these things for you. Call me a caveman but I love taking care of you, just like I love it when you take care of me. Let me do this for you. It will make me so happy."

This is how he shows love. This is how he shows love, I tell myself over and over again.

"I don't want you or anybody else to think that I'm using you or taking advantage of you," I say.

"I don't think that and no one who knows you will think that. You and me," he says.

"No one else."

"That's right."

"Ok, I'll take it, and I promise not to spend too much."

"Baby, you can spend as much as you want. The card has no limit. Now take it from me before your father comes looking for us."

"Thank you, Christian," I say taking the card from him. I'm still uneasy about it and I won't use it. Over the past few months, I've saved thousands of dollars. I pay very little rent to Kate's parents, and I spend so much time with Christian that my expenses have dwindled down to practically nothing. I can more than afford to splurge this weekend.

"Come on before they send a search party," he says as he grabs my hand. I follow him downstairs into the kitchen where we join everybody else for lunch. Mrs. Bentley has set up a taco bar with a variety of meats and toppings.

"It's about time you two love birds joined the rest of us. Are you ready for our hike, Christian, or is leaving Ana for a few hours too much for you," Elliot asks, making me blush. I decide to ignore him and go prepare some steak and chicken tacos for me and Christian.

"Leave them alone, Elliot. They're in love," I hear Grace say.

"Here you go, baby," I say as I hand him his plate. He leans down and kisses my cheek in thanks.

 **I'm going to end this chapter here, otherwise it would have gotten to be too long. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Ray wasn't so bad, was he? Hopefully Ana has gotten over the press and the CPO thing. Now they're moving in together. I wonder what comes next after that? Let me know how you enjoyed this chapter, and whether you want to read about Kate's shower? Only one or two chapters left until this story ends. If you want an epilogue, let me know. Until next time.**


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

I own nothing. All credit to ELJ.

I don't name my chapters, but if I did, I'd name this one Pillow Talk. I hope you like fluff because there is plenty of it in this chapter. Sorry for any mistakes.

ANA

"I'm going to miss you," I say against his lips.

"I'm going to miss you more, but you'll love downtown Aspen," he says.

"I'd rather go downtown on you. Besides, I'd rather see Aspen for the first time with you," I pout.

"Plenty of time to visit downtown tonight. How about we come back after Kate and Elliot's wedding. Just the two of us?" I smile against his lips, put my arms around his neck and start to deepen the kiss.

"My goodness, you two! Stop all this kissy face and let's go, Christian. Ana, he's not going off to war. You guys will see each other in a few hours. Ray, tell him to get off your daughter," Elliot yells.

"Elliot, don't you have your own woman to say goodbye to?" Ray asks, and I hear Elliot stomp off to go find Kate.

"I'd love to come back with just you. You should go before Elliot comes and drags you out of here," I say.

"Promise me you'll spend lots of money."

"I think you're the first man in history to ever say that," I say knowing damn well I'm not going to spend a dime of his money. That credit card will remain a virgin indefinitely.

"And stay close to Prescott. No rogue tampon runs," he says with a laugh.

"Yes, daddy," I whisper as I roll my eyes.

"What did you say, Annie?" Ray asks. Oh, shit. Did he hear me? I look at Christian and he has his hand covering his laugh.

"Nothing, dad," I say back.

"I thought I heard you call daddy," he continues.

"Nope. I didn't. I was just saying good bye. Enjoy your hike." I turn back to Christian and give him one last, quick kiss. "That's mortifying. Have fun with the guys, ok? I love you."

"I love you more," he says.

"Not possible."

"Let's go, Christian. Jesus!" Elliot says, this time grabbing Christian by the elbow and leading him away. I lean against the wall as I watch the men walk out. Christian turns around and blows me a kiss before walking out of my sight. It happens so fast that I don't get a chance to blow him a kiss back.

When did I become this love-sick fool?

Kate comes over and hooks her arm through mine. "Let's go, Steele. Shopping, spa, dinner."

"Let's go celebrate you, Kate," I say as we walk outside into one of the many waiting cars. Prescott has the door opened to a shiny, black BMW 7 Series. Kate and I climb in the back. I look out and see Mia, Grace, Kate's mom and some cousin of Kate's getting into the other SUV's.

"Are you feeling ok, Kate?" I ask remembering how nauseous she was the first few weeks after she discovered her pregnancy.

"I feel great, but I get tired a lot. Mom says it's normal in the first trimester. Can you believe I'm getting married in 2 weeks, Steele?" She asks with a laugh.

"I know! I'm so excited for you!" I tell her.

"I turned down his proposal the first time," she says, surprising me.

"What? Why?"

"I thought he was only proposing because I was pregnant and because my dad punched him. As much as I love Elliot, I wanted him to want to marry me, not feel obligated. It took some convincing, but he told me had planned on proposing around Christmas since it's my favorite holiday. He was so sweet. He told me how much he loves me and that the baby is not the reason he's proposing, that he always planned on it, but is just moving things along sooner."

I reach over and grab Kate's hand, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Well I'm glad he convinced you because it's obvious you two are crazy about each other."

"Elliot isn't the only Grey who's crazy about someone," Kate says. I decide to play dumb.

"You mean Mia and Ethan? Yeah, she's gaga over your brother."

"Nice try, Steele. I'm talking about you and Christian."

"You think he's gaga?" I ask.

"Totally. Do you ever see how he looks at you? He's crazy about you. You guys will be married before the year is up," she declares.

"Well, I don't know about married. I kind of like the status quo, but I'm pretty crazy about him, too. Even though it happened way too fast, but he's mine and I'm his," I say with a goofy grin on my face.

"I'm happy for you, Steele. You deserve to be happy. And you'll see. We are going to be sisters before you know it."

"Girls, just wanna have fun!" I hear Grace and Mrs. Kavanaugh sing at the top of their lungs. Who knew Grace Grey and Dana Kavanaugh could be so wild?

The day started with shopping at some very expensive boutiques in downtown Aspen. Grace, Mia, Kate, Dana, and three of Kate's cousins, Clare, Zoe, and Danni, went completely wild, especially when it came to buying shoes. I'm used to shopping at Marshalls or Express when I need something fancy, so I was a bit out of my element.

Carla has a birthday coming up and I did manage to find a dress and some accessories she would like. Thankfully they were on the sale rack they had at one of these stores. I also found some sexy lingerie that I want to wear for Christian tonight. I tried my best to not late Grace see me picking out sexy lingerie to wear for her son, but she saw me, smiled and winked. I blushed slightly and carried on with my business. It's not like she doesn't know we have sex. She practically walked in on us that one time. I have to accept the fact that there is no privacy in Christian's crazy family.

"Ana, is that all you're going to get?" Mia asks as she grabs the items from my hand. She looks at the black lacy teddy that I have and wiggles her eyebrows at me. "Christian is going to love this!" She says way too loudly for my liking.

"Let's hope he doesn't rip it off f me," I say.

"TMI, Ana," she says, shaking her head. Who knew there was such a thing as TMI with this family?

I go to pay for my purchases and realize that Christian took out my credit cards and personal checks, only leaving behind his AMEX. I curse softly under my breath. I should have known he would do this and leave me no choice but to use his card. I have to stay one step ahead of this man at all times. Damn, him! I reluctantly pull out his card and pay. I decide to send him a text.

 **You are so sneaky. I'm going to spank that tight, firm ass of yours.**

He doesn't respond so I figure he must not have reception where he is. Infuriating man!

We hit up a few other shops and I let Kate and Mia talk me into getting some shoes. They convinced me that they would be good for clubbing, and Mia reminded me that Christian will be having lots of events coming up that I will need to attend. I don't mention how nervous I am about that. I worry that I won't fit in and will say something to embarrass him, but this is not the time or the place to bring up my insecurities.

I'm sure Christian will be happy with my purchases. I racked up about one thousand dollars worth of purchases.

After shopping, we got went to the very posh spa at the St. Regis Aspen Resort where we get facials, massages, manicures and pedicures, all the while sipping on mimosas, while Kate had to settle for just orange juice.

Mrs. Kavanaugh reserved a room for Kate's shower where we ate, drank expensive champagne, laughed, exchanged gifts and gave Kate some raunchy advice to keep her marriage spicy.

"Touch him often," Dana Kavanaugh said.

"Shower with him as often as possible. That's what I do," Grace says.

"Gross, mom. I don't need to hear that," says Mia.

"Learn to give good head," Kate's cousin, Clare, says, and we all howl in laughter.

"Give him sensual massages," I say. I know Christian likes it when I rub his shoulders.

"Christian lets you massage him?" Grace asks in shock. Since I've been drinking all day, I've lost most of my filter.

"He does and he loves it. After he's had a long day, he'll lay on his stomach and I'll massage his entire body, from his shoulders all the way on down," I say. Did I really just say that to my boyfriend's mother. At least I didn't mention how he likes it when I give his ass a good squeeze.

"Oh, Ana," she says and comes over and hugs me. Since Kate was sitting next to me, she grabs her into a hug too. "My boys are so lucky to have found you both. Kate's is making me a grandma and you've made Christian so happy."

Graces stands up and pours everyone, with the exception of Kate, more champagne.

"To the Greys," she toasts.

Now it's about midnight and we are back at the house. We were buzzed from champagne when Grace pulled out a karaoke machine and we all start singing Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I come home in the morning light  
My mother says when you gonna live your life right  
Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones  
And girls they wanna have fun  
Oh girls just want to have fun

The phone rings in the middle of the night  
My father yells what you gonna do with your life  
Oh daddy dear you know you're still number one  
But girls they wanna have fun  
Oh girls just want to have

That's all they really want  
Some fun  
When the working day is done  
Oh girls, they wanna have fun  
Oh girls just wantna have fun (girls and boys wanna have fun, girls wanna have)

Some boys take a beautiful girl  
And hide her away from the rest of the world  
I want to be the one to walk in the sun  
Oh girls they wanna have fun  
Oh girls just wanna have

That's all they really want  
Some fun…

"Now this is a party," I hear Elliot say. I look up and see they guys walking in. I drop my microphone and run into the arms of the sexiest man I've ever seen.

"Christian!" I scream as I jump into his arms, wrap my legs around him and put my mouth on his. He's just as happy to see me because he opens his mouth and deepens the kiss. The kiss was gentle yet insistent, loving but possessive. I close my eyes to better enjoy the sensation as his tongue lightly swept across and between my lips. I need to get him upstairs, so I can feel his mouth on another set of lips.

"Missed me, baby?" He asks.

"Like crazy. I'm so glad you're back," I say as I put my forehead to his.

"Hello, Annie," Ray says. I had forgotten all about him and jump out of Christian's arms, and blushing profusely. I look around and I see everyone who has a significant other is either hugging or kissing. Even Mia and Ethan are holding on to each other.

"Hi, dad," I say avoiding all eye contact with him. "Did you have a good time hiking?"

"I sure did. I had an even better time at the poker game. Next time I'm in town, I'll have to teach that boyfriend of yours how to play poker," Ray says as he slaps Christian on the back.

"Did I forget to mention that Ray is a bit of a shark when it comes to card games?"

"Good night, kids. All of you couples are making this old man feel old. I'll see you guys in the morning," he says as he goes up to bed. As soon as he's gone, Christian wraps his arms around me from behind and kisses my temple.

I turn around and put my arms around his neck.

"I'm so glad you're back. I had a good time with the ladies, but I did nothing but think of you all day. I'm so lame," I say as I look into his eyes.

"Well in that case, we're made for each other because all I did was think and worry about you, too."

"Why were you worried?"

"I always worry about you when you're not with me."

I roll my eyes at him.

"But we had so many bodyguards. Besides, Prescott was like my damn shadow. It was so annoying."

"Good. She's doing her job."

"I love you," I say. "I love you so much, Christian."

"I love you more, baby."

CHRISTIAN

"Where are you going? I just got you back in my arms."

"I'll be right back. We've been drinking champagne all day and I have to pee," Ana says as she runs to one of the guest bathrooms on the first level. I watch her ass sway from side to side as she walks away, and groan. I can't wait to get her upstairs and naked. I look around and everyone is either talking, laughing or dancing to the soft music that's now playing.

"Hi, I'm Clare," some blonde says to me. I look at her and recognize her as one of Kate's cousins. She's blonde and has green eyes similar to Kate's. She keeps standing there with her hand outstretched with a flirty smile on her face.

Out of politeness, I shake her hand

"It's nice to meet you, Clare. I'm Christian," I say.

"Thanks for inviting us. This is a great house. Maybe you can give me a tour later," she says, batting her eyelashes at me and biting her lip. Little does she know only one woman's lip biting gets me turned on. I do a mental eye roll. It's not unusual for women to hit on me, but during a family event with my girlfriend here is a bold move.

"I'm sure Kate will love to show you around," I say dismissively.

She walks closer to me, and as a reflex, I walk back in order to put some distance between us. She doesn't get the message and keeps walking until I'm pressed up against the wall.

"I was hoping you'd give me the tour. I'm sure a place like this has some hidden areas. Maybe you can show me some of them," Clare says, totally invading my space. Jesus, this woman has some balls on her. As much progress as I've made with my touch issues, I'm still not totally comfortable with total strangers invading my space. I don't know how I will react if she touches one of my no touch zones.

Before I can tell her to fuck off, Ana comes back, standing directly in front of me, forcing Clare to back away.

"Hey, baby," she says as she puts her arm around my waist, pulling me closer to her. I lean down and kiss the top of her head.

"Can we help you, Clare?" Ana asks coldly.

"Clare here was just asking for a tour of the house," I say.

"A tour? Well I'm sure Kate can show you around. Just close your ears if you hear any noise coming out of the master bedroom," Ana says boldly, looking directly at Clare. Clare gets the message and starts to walk away.

"Oh, Clare?" Ana says.

"What, Ana?"

"If you try to lay a hand on my man again, you'll be going home with one less hand. Understand?"

Clare's eyes widen before she squares her shoulders, turns around and walks away.

"Really, Christian? I leave you alone for two minutes and some woman is already hitting on you? I should go over there and kick her scrawny ass. That bitch!"

I pull her into my arms and kiss her passionately.

"I'm not interested in any other woman but you. You inhabit my every waking thought. There is no one on this earth you can entice me away. I am yours, baby," I say to her.

"You're damn right you're mine," she says, kissing me back. "I should put a tattoo that says property of Ana on your forehead."

"Your jealousy does things to me, Ana. I would love nothing more than for you to mark me as yours. That was such a turn on," I say as I grind my erection into her. I take her left hand and kiss her ring finger, hoping she understands what I'm telling her.

Just as I'm about to throw her over my shoulder and take her to our bedroom, my mom starts to talk.

"Everyone, this is the song that Carrick and I danced on our 10th wedding anniversary. He took me to a romantic dinner and dancing, and requested this song. It was such a special night," she says just as Bryant Adam's Everything I do, I do it for You comes on. My parents start to dance, as do the Kavanaughs. Elliot gets up and takes Kate's hand as they start to dance too. Even Mia and Ethan are dancing.

"May I have this dance, Ana?"

"You may," she says. I take her into my arms and we start to sway back and forth to the music, our eyes never leaving each other. I hold her close, her body fitting into mine as if we were made for each other. She places her hands on my shoulders, giving me nothing but comfort, and we dance silently. Slowly she moved her hands up to my neck and rests her head on my chest. I pulled her impossibly closer as two people slowly resembled one.

"Christian?"

"Yes, baby."

"Let's go to bed. I want you all to myself."

I pick her up bridal style and yell good night to everybody before taking the stairs two at a time.

"I hope that bitch, Clare, was watching as you carried me up the stairs," Ana says. My baby can hold a grudge!

"Forget her, baby. She's irrelevant. Now, come here so I can undress you," I say. In no time at all, we're both completely undressed. Just like that first time in Escala, our clothes are scattered all throughout the room.

I take Ana and guide her to the bed and lay her down. I lay on top of her and kiss her deeply while my hand travel down her body and into the apex her thighs. I open up her folds with my fingers to find her moist, wet and ready.

"I've been thinking of nothing but tasting you all day," I say as I lick her moisture from my fingers. Before she can respond, I travel down her body and press my face into her moist pussy, inhaling her scent.

I slowly start kissing her inner thighs, going from thigh to thigh. I gently lick the top of her clitoris by giving her long strokes. Her pussy becomes even wetter and she begins to grind into my face, holding my head secure inside her thighs. I bite down softly on her clit and hear her call out my name. My dick becomes even harder when she said my name. Knowing that I'm the only one who's ever eaten her out or fucked her turns me on even more. Knowing that no other man will ever have this pleasure, almost causes me to come like a 15 year old.

I stick my tongue in and out of her pussy, tasting the saltiness of her moisture, before going back to sucking on her clit. She calls my name one last time as she comes in my mouth. I climb back on top of her, kissing her deeply, making her taste herself. She accepts the kiss, opening her mouth, allowing my tongue inside, and even sucking on my tongue.

"I want to taste you, too. It's only fair that you come in my mouth now," she says. "Get on your back," she commands.

"Yes, ma'am," I say, giving her a salute. She smiles at me as she straddles me. She starts by rubbing my shoulders and kissing me on the lips, ears and face. She goes back to my lips and travels down to my chin, neck, chest and naval. She continues to go lower until she gets to my dick.

She slowly licks the top of my penis over and over again with the tip of her tongue. I can feel the precum dripping out, and the soft movements cause me to groan.

"Ana," I whisper.

She puts just the tip of my dick in her mouth and sucks on it softly as she holds my balls in her hands. She already has me by the balls all the time, now she literally has me by them, I muse to myself.

Just as I'm getting used to her gentle sucking, she takes me all the way to the back of her throat.

"God damn it, Ana. How far can you take me?" I ask.

"Shhhh," she says as she continues to suck, taking me all the way back and out, over and over again, all the while stroking my shaft with her hand.

"Oh, baby," is all I can manage to say before I explode in her mouth. She continues to suck until she's completely drained me. I look down just in time to see her swallow my come.

She climbs back on top of me, and just like I did to her, she kisses me deeply, and I taste myself on her tongue. I we continue to kiss like two lovers who have been apart for months instead of a few hours.

"God, baby. As incredible as that was, I need to sink into you and feel you come around my dick next time," I say.

"Are you ready already?" she asks. The woman has no idea what she does to me. I grab her hand and put it on my dick so she can see for herself. She says nothing else. Since she's already facing me, she lowers herself onto my dick in a kneeling position, all the while keeping her knees on bed. She curls her feet around the inside of my legs, leans forward and grabs the bedsheets. She tilts her pelvis and starts to move in small tight motions.

"God, Ana," I say.

She alternates from fast to slow, but she never breaks eye contact with me. Our eyes and our bodies remain locked as she rides me.

"Christian," she moans. "You feel so good." Just hearing her call my name has me ready to explode, but I want to feel her come around me first.

"I'm so close, baby," she says. Thank god!

I reach down and rub her clitoris. I feel her pussy tighten around me as she comes. As soon as she calls out my name, I erupt inside of her. She collapses on top of me, both our bodies slick with sweat.

"Oh, my god! How did I go this long without sex? It's incredible. I want it all the time," she confesses, while blushing, as we lay on our side, facing each other.

"I'm glad you waited for me," I say.

"I am, too," she says shyly.

"I guess I did you a favor since you fell in love with me that first night," she teases. I stroke her cheek and run my fingers over her swollen lips.

"Thank you for your generosity, Ms. Steele. I get the distinct impression that you're trying to tell me you didn't fall for me that first night."

"I didn't. It took me much longer than that," she says haughtily.

"How much longer? Until the next morning?" I challenge.

"Always so full of yourself, Mr. Grey. I'm going to give you the same advice I gave you the day after we met. Get over yourself. I didn't fall for you until the next afternoon, so there!"

"Now, I'm intrigued, Ms. Steele. Tell me more? When did you have this epiphany? Was it when my mother told you to call her mom?" I tease. She throws her head back and laughs. When she looks back at me, her hair is a mess, her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are bright. This is the look that I'm going to remember for the rest of my life. Ana, happy, carefree and naked in my bed. This right here is paradise.

"No, definitely not. If anything, that was a point against you, but I'm afraid I had fallen before your mom so kindly offered to let me call her mom. It was that moment in Elliot's truck. It was such a minor thing, but you reached over and buckled my seatbelt, took my hand and kissed my knuckles. I remember closing my eyes for a few seconds and just wondered what it would be like to be with you, and to let you take care of me like you just did. That small gesture of making sure I was buckled, told me so much about you. You revealed yourself right then and there. You are a nurturer. You're a giver. You give of yourself to everyone, and expect nothing back. You had me at that exact moment, but I was so afraid to just let myself fall for you."

"Then let me take care of you. That's what I want to do. I love you so much, and I'm so happy when you rely on me. You don't have to imagine it anymore, baby," I say. I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of her. I will, but it will be so much easier if she would stop fighting me.

"I know it's what you want to do, and you do. I love you for it, but it goes against my nature, and what I thought my life was going to be like. But, I do let you take of me. But you know what I love the most?" I shake my head. I love these moments when she lets me in.

"It's not the closet full of designer clothes, the fancy restaurants, that insane private jet. It's when you call me in the middle of the day to tell me you miss me, when you draw a bath for us at the end of a long day, or when you have to have me sit on your lap as we eat because you just can't be away from me. And I still don't know how you manage to have flowers delivered to my office whenever I step out to have lunch with you. I love those moments, and I love you. I worry that you might think that I don't reciprocate."

"Not as much as I love you. I love those moments too. I love every second we spend together. Even when we're arguing. I cherish it all. And what do you mean, you don't reciprocate? I just need your love. I need you to want me, and you do. You're as much of a nurturer as me. You won't spend a night away from me because you don't want me to have nightmares. You keep me fed on the weekends because you know I'm useless in the kitchen. And it sounds crazy, but I even love how you don't want the money, but it's part of the package. I love to buy you things and that won't stop," she needs to understand that the gifts won't stop.

"First, I love your kitchen and I'd hate for you to set it on fire. Second, did you see my text earlier? I should have spanked your ass but you distracted me with your sexpertise," she says.

"What text? We had no reception and Elliot took my phone."

"It looks like someone took my credit cards out of my purse," she says.

"Oh, that," I say with a laugh. "I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't have used your new credit card if you still had your cards, so I took them, but I'll gladly let you spank me later," I say as I move close and place my hand on her ass.

"Please tell me you bought lots of stuff," I say.

"I spent about a thousand dollars. Is that too much? Besides, you filled up that huge closet at your place with new clothes for me. I really don't need anything, but I did buy a dress for my mom's birthday, some shoes and a teddy to wear for you. I'll pay you back for my mom's dress," she says. "Besides, those stores are so fancy. My idea of fancy is going to Express."

"First, it's our place now. Second, you can never spend too much. Buy whatever you want, whenever you want regardless of how much it costs. I can afford it. No, Ana, you will not pay me back for anything. I gave you the card so you can buy whatever you want or need. That includes gifts for whoever you want. I told you I want to take care of you. And it doesn't matter what you wear, you always look beautiful."

"Christian, I know you love me, but sometimes I worry that I just don't fit in your world. I don't have the type of breeding someone like you needs. My worst fear is that I'll embarrass you at one of your fancy dinners. I worry that maybe someone like Clare, who has a similar background to you, would be a better choice for you. I'd kill her first, but I do think about that. Please don't get angry at me for saying that, but I worry about those things," she says to me. I look at her. She's wide eyed and innocent, but I can see the worry in her eyes.

"Ana, I've been around women like Clare all my life. First of all, she's not my type. Second of all, no woman has ever interested me beyond just sex. Since I first laid eyes on you, you're all I've ever wanted. I was ready to chase you until you became mine. Luckily, you had mercy on me and were mine that first night, but you're the only one I ever wanted to bring around my family and to have an actual relationship with. And you can never embarrass me, baby. I'm so proud to be with you. I want the entire world to know it. I won't make light of your insecurities because we all have our own, but there is no scenario ever that you will ever make me feel anything other than pride to have you on my arm."

"Oh, Christian," she says as tears fall down her face. I reach over and kiss the tears away.

"And I was not yours the first night. You were mine though. Get it right," she says, bringing the lightness back into the room.

"Wrong, baby. You were mine the minute you kissed me in the GEH garage. I was going to make it my mission to have you."

"Well, you can be pretty relentless. Good thing I have a good heart and took you out of your misery. Now, back to this credit card thing. What if I want to buy something for you? I'm not using your credit card for that," she says.

"Good point. Gifts for me, you use your money. Everything else, you use the credit card I gave you. Deal?"

"Um, that doesn't exactly sound fair, but I'm too hungry to debate right now. Let's go downstairs and raid the fridge," she says.

We put on our pajamas quickly. Just as I'm about to open the bedroom door, Ana jumps on my back and wraps her legs around me. I guess that's her way of telling me she wants me to carry her. She peppers my cheek with kisses as we travel down to the kitchen. To my surprise, I find my parents there, and they've already warmed up the leftovers from the taco bar.

"Hi, kids," Grace and Carrick say. I walk over and set Ana down in front of the island where the food is spread out.

"We got hungry," I offer as an explanation.

"Help yourselves. We got hungry too and your mother has already warmed everything up," Carrick says.

"Sit down, baby. I'll fix you a plate since you're kind of useless in the kitchen," Ana says.

"As long as I'm not useless in the bedroom, right dad?" I say and laugh as Ana turns red as a tomato.

"That's right, son," dad says, giving me a high five.

"Is there a party in the kitchen and nobody told me?" Elliot says as he and Kate walk in. "This pregnant lady threatened my life if I didn't get her something to eat."

"Hey, this is your fault, Elliot Grey. The least you can do is fix me something to eat."

"Please feed her, Elliot. Kate is worse than Christian in the kitchen." Ana says. I grab a piece of lettuce and throw it at her. She catches it and eats it.

"Thanks, baby," she says. I love how she's gotten so comfortable around my family now. She still blushes at the in appropriate sex jokes, but most of the time, she jokes right back.

"Hurry up, Elliot, before I get cranky," Kate yells.

"Yes, boss," Elliot says but I see him moving around quickly, plating Kate's tacos. He places a plate in front of her at the same time that Ana brings our plates to the table. She places my plate in front of me and I grab her arm and pull her onto my lap as she's trying to walk away.

"Let's share," I say as I hold a taco to her mouth.

"Mmmm. Thank you. Here, let me feed you," she says as she takes the taco from my hand and feeds it to me. I lean in and give her a quick peck on the lips.

"Elliot's right. You two are disgusting," Kate says. I see Ana blush.

"Sorry, I forgot we weren't alone," Ana says as she tries to get up from my lap.

"Uh, uh. You're not going anywhere. This is my house, so Kate and Elliot will just have to be disgusted," I say and kiss her again as Elliot rolls his eyes.

"I told you, Cary. That first night, I knew you guys were a good match. I watched Christian the entire night and he never took his eyes off her," Grace says.

"You did, dear. And I agreed with you the moment I saw them together," Carrick says.

"You mean that night when Christian did nothing but drool over Ana and follow her with his eyes?" Elliot asks.

"I did more than drool. Little Ms. Steele French kissed me in the GEH garage before she got into her car," I say proudly.

"You didn't tell me that, Steele," Kate says.

"Christian, stop!" Ana says as she slaps my chest. "And you kissed me. If I remember correctly, I pushed you away. Now stop embarrassing me."

"Ana, mom walked in on you guys in bed. There is no way you can be embarrassed beyond that. There are no more secrets in the Grey family. Get used to it because you're one of us, kid," Elliot says right before he inhales his own tacos.

"He's right, Ana. You're one of us now and we've had enough secrets. There's no need to ever be embarrassed. We love having you be a part of our family," mom says. I see Ana's eyes well with tears.

"You guys realize that you only met because of me? If I didn't hook up Ana with that job at GEH, you probably wouldn't have met until this weekend. Either way, you would have met only because you're lucky enough to have me as a brother. You should name your first kid after me. Little Elliot or Elliotina if it's a girl. Anyway, Enough of this mushy stuff, mom. I have an idea that would totally piss Mia off. Let's take a group selfie without her," Elliot suggests.

"Now, El, that's just cruel," dad says as he pulls out his phone. "Get in and smile everybody! I'll text it to everyone, including Mia."

"I love your family, baby. They're totally inappropriate, but I love them. They are just so accepting. I'm ashamed to admit that I judged you and your family before I even got to you know guys. I'm sorry," Ana says, wrapping her arms around me, when we step back into the bedroom.

"Let's forget about that. That's all in the past. But you know what's in the present?" I press my erection into her core. "You got him all riled up while you were sitting on my lap downstairs. I let you have total control the last time we made love, but now I want to fuck you so hard, you'll be sore for a week," I whisper in her ear and hear her whimper.

"I think I like the sound of that, Mr. Grey. I want you to fuck me so hard that even Clare will hear my moans of ecstasy," she says right before she jumps into my arms.

"As good as you feel in my arms right now, I want you to go put on that lingerie you bought earlier."

"Promise you won't rip it!"

"I can make no promises. Now, go change," I say as I slap her ass hard.

 **This was supposed to be the last chapter, but there was just too much pillow talk. There will be one more chapter followed by the epilogue. I hope you enjoyed it. I think Ana has conquered the last bit of her insecurity. Please let me know your thoughts.**

 **P.S. To the 715 people following this story, thank you so much!**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

All credit to ELJ

I'm sorry for any mistakes.

 **CHRISTIAN**

"I really loved it. I can't believe you destroyed another undergarment, you caveman," Ana says as she tosses the torn teddy at me. I grab it and put it to my nose. When she came out of the bathroom last night, wearing nothing but a tiny, black, lace teddy, I lost all control and just ripped it off her body. I didn't have the patience to take it off of her. My need for her was just that strong.

"Smells just like you."

"Why did you ask me to put it on if you were only going to rip it off?" She pouts as she climbs back into the king sized bed and pulls the covers up to her neck. She's so adorable when she pouts.

"I didn't know I was going to rip it off until it was too late. It's your fault for being so sexy," I say as she rolls her eyes at me.

"You better get going before Elliot comes looking for you."

Today is the last day of the bachelor/bachelorette weekend and the men are going fishing at Roaring Fork River. We've chartered a boat, per Elliot's request, and we are going to fish and drink beer. I could do without the beer, but I enjoy fishing. Besides, this will give me the opportunity I need to talk to Ray. Hopefully he won't throw me into the river and turn me into fish food when he hears what I have to say.

I climb back on the bed behind Ana and spoon her. I nestle my nose into her hair.

'I wish you were coming with us," I say.

"Fishing's not my thing, baby," she says with her eyes closed. I kept her up half the night so I know she must be tired. The ladies aren't meeting for a few hours, so at least she can get some more sleep.

"Does that mean you won't miss me?"

"I'm going to miss you like crazy, but my hoo ha can use a break. You're insatiable," she says without even opening her eyes.

"Your hoo ha? You mean that tight, moist pussy? I could go for another round." Just saying that is getting me hard. Just as I start to put my hand inside her underwear, I hear a loud banging on the door.

"Let's go, Christian, before I send Ray up here," Elliot yells from the other side of the door. The sound of Ray's name instantly makes my dick soften. I see Ana's eyes widen and hear her gasp.

"Go, baby. I'm tired and Elliot is just crazy enough to carry out his threat." I get up and feel a little irritated at her dismissing me. I'd say fuck it to fishing and spend the day with her, but I know that won't fly. Besides, I need to talk with Ray.

"Fine! I love you," I say. I get really upset when she doesn't respond, but when I look at her, she's sound asleep. I feel like an animal because I know I'm the one who made her so tired. I lean down and give her small kiss on the lips before leaving the room.

I step outside and I see Elliot leaning against the wall.

"Let's go, asshole," he says.

It's now or never. We've been on this boat for about an hour. Dad, Elliot, Mr. Kavanaugh, Ethan are all competing to see who can catch the most trout. Ray stepped a way to grab something to drink and I followed him.

"You having a good time, Ray?" What a lame question to ask. I've never been good at this small talk bullshit. I'm more of a get to the point type of guy.

"I am, son. Ethan Kavanaugh looks like he's going to vomit every time he has to bait his fishing rod. I don't think we have to worry about him catching the most fish," he says shaking his head.

"I wanted to talk to you about something, sir," I say.

"Sir, huh? Sounds serious," he says looking at me and smiles. "I figured this was coming, but I didn't expect it this soon."

"We haven't told anyone about this yet, but Ana has agreed to move in with me," I begin. God, this is so nerve wrecking. I need to stay confidant when all I feel is nervous.

"Move in? That's not what I was expecting to hear, son. I know Annie is a grown woman, but I don't know how I feel about her shacking up with you," he says not looking happy with me at all. Maybe I shouldn't have started with her moving in with me. Fuck! Did I fuck this up already?

"It's not like that, Ray. I love your daughter so much and with Kate getting married soon, I don't want her alone in that apartment. No, that came out wrong. The truth is, I want her with me always. And she won't be shacking up with me. I plan on proposing. I'd propose today and be married by this afternoon if I thought she'd agree. She'll probably kill me for telling you about ours plans to live together, but I wanted to tell you my intentions have always been to marry Ana. I know she would love to have your blessing, and so would I," I finish.

"I'm a man of few words, Christian, but I'm not blind. I think it's a bit soon but I see the way you are with Annie, and I know you love her. Let me tell you, the way you guys look at each other is hard for a father to witness. You'll know what I mean if you're ever blessed with a daughter. Ana's always been a loner, happy to be reading a book or just hanging out with me. She was never really interested in guys, thank goodness. But she just lights up when she's around you and that makes this old man happy. You have my blessing, son. Do right by my daughter and you and I will always get along," he says and holds out his hand. As we shake hands, he pulls me into a hug and slaps me on my shoulder.

"Thank you, Ray," I say relieved. I know I didn't need his blessing, but I'm glad he's on board.

"Let's go teach these other guys how to catch some trout," he says as we walk towards the rest of our group.

"If my dad wasn't on this plane, I would straddle you right here and give Clare a show. Do you see the way she keeps looking at you? And do you know what she had the nerve to say to me at the ladies' brunch? She said it was interesting how someone like you can be with me. Interesting! What she means to say is that I'm too low class for you. It took all of my willpower not to tell her how interesting things got when you had your head between my legs last night. She's lucky I was raised with manners, unlike her!" She huffs. I turn to see Clare looking at us and I take Ana's hand in mine, kissing her knuckles. I pull her closer to me so she can lay her head on my chest, and I rub soothing circles on her back.

"Forget her, baby. Do you want to go lay down in the bedroom? I know you're tired?"

It's mid afternoon and we're finally on our way back to Seattle. Everyone on board is exhausted and for once the plane is quiet.

"I'm exhausted," she yawns. "You kept me up all night. But there is no way I'm leaving you here with her."

Her jealousy makes me want to laugh but I know better.

"You and me, baby."

"No one else," she says. Instead of going to the bedroom to rest, she leaves her head on my chest, puts her arms across my torso, and closes her eyes. After a few minutes, her breathing slows, and I realize she's fallen asleep. I feel eyes on me and when I look up, I notice Grace is looking at me and Ana. She smiles at me before looking away, but I still managed to see the tears in her eyes.

I hold Ana closer and close my own eyes. Before I know it, the pilot is telling us to fasten our seatbelts as we prepare to land.

Everyone says a quick goodbye before heading into our own cars to head home. Mom informs us we're having dinner at her house this Wednesday since we missed Sunday dinner. There is nothing that will keep Grace from our weekly family dinners.

Ray rides with me and Ana back to Escala since he left his car there. He refuses our invitation to dinner, stating that he needs to head home. He hugs us both before driving off.

"I'm exhausted and hungry," Ana says as we step into the penthouse.

Ana makes us a chicken caesar salad before we head to the bedroom.

"Why don't you take a nap while I catch up on some work?" I say.

"You're not going to nap with me?"

"I'd love nothing more, but I have some urgent stuff that can't wait. I didn't get a chance to check my emails at all this weekend. I'll put in a few hours now and we'll have tonight together," I offer as a compromise.

"Will you hold me until I fall asleep?" How can I refuse that? I take off my shoes and watch as Ana strips down to just her underwear before we both get in the bed. I spoon her from behind. I can't help myself and put my hand inside her panties. I rub my index finger over her slit and feel that she's already wet. I slip two fingers in and I hear her moan. I finger fuck her and rub her clit with my thumb until she comes on my hand. I pull my hand out and lick her juices from my fingers. How can one person taste so good?

She turns to face me and I put my fingers in her mouth so she can taste herself. She reaches for my pants and I stop her.

"No, baby. You're tired and that was for you. You'll sleep better after an orgasm."

"I want you to fuck me," she says and I get even harder. "You can't get me off and go to your office with that python in your pants. Put it in me and let me tame it." How can I refuse?

In no time, I'm completely naked and Ana climb on top of Ana. No words are exchanged when I slowly sink into her ready and waiting heat. We lock eyes and I drive into her over and over again.

"I'm going to come, Christian," she moans.

"Let's come together, baby," I say as I increase my pace and erupt in her. Just as I'm emptying into her, I feel her shatter underneath, calling out my name. I slip out of her just in time to hear her say I love you before she falls asleep. I kiss her temple before getting up and going to my office.

"Why don't we make our big announcement on Wednesday at dinner?" I ask. I can't wait for everyone to know that Ana will be moving in with me permanently.

"Ok. I wonder how they'll take it." She says.

I snort.

"They will be ecstatic," I say. "Mom will cry, Mia will let out a high pitched scream, dad will congratulate us and Kate and Elliot will make a smart comment."

Ana laughs. "You're probably right." She takes my hand and we walk together to the elevator to go into the GEH lobby.

We've come such a long way in just a few short months. Everyone knows we're together and Ana isn't freaked out by the paparazzi taking pictures of her anymore. It still bothers her when there's the occasional report, but she just lets it roll of her back. I've been doing my best to convince her to do an interview, but she thinks an interview shed even more light on her and that's the last thing she wants. I want the world to know that we're together and I think that if we answered a few basic questions, the novelty might wear off. I'm going to schedule a meeting for me and Ana with my PR team so we can weigh the pros and cons of doing an interview.

Since today is my lunch with dad and Ana has refused to come, claiming that she doesn't want to intrude on father and son time, I decide to walk her to her office. Nobody bats an eyelash seeing me walk through the doors of the daycare with my girl since I make it a point to visit her almost daily.

When we step in, I see Louise signing in baby Tyler. I've seen him a few times since the first time I held him and he's always so happy to see me.

As soon as he sees me, he tries to jump from his mother's arms into mine. I reach over and take him from her.

"Hi, Ty," I say. He smiles and puts his hand in my mouth, his signature move. I remove his hand and make some silly faces and he lets out a belly laugh. I tickle under his chin and he continues to laugh, and a big glob of drool falls out of his mount onto my hand. I laugh and wipe the drool my ten thousand dollar custom made Italian silk suit.

"He likes you, sir," his mother says as she takes him from me and brings him to his classroom. This does not make him happy and he starts to cry.

"This is why I love you," Ana says. "Always the nurturer. I want to swoon every time I see you with that baby."

"If I had known that, I would have brought a baby with me to Fifty's that first night. I have a meeting in a few so I have to go," I say and she pouts. I lean down and give her a kiss too indecent for a daycare.

"Are you sure you won't come to lunch with me and Carrick?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Enjoy your time with your dad. I'll see you at home."

"At home. I love the sound of that. If you leave the building, take Prescott or Sawyer."

"You don't have to remind me of that every day, you know." She's been doing better with the CPO, but I know she struggles with it still even though she doesn't complain and has not taken off without someone since tampongate. I just need to continue to make sure she knows how important it is for her to have security with her.

"I will never stop reminding you about your safety. Ever," I say firmly. "I love you too much."

"I love you too, now go or you'll be late for your meeting."

"I'm the boss. They will wait for as along as it takes," I say and see her roll her eyes at me.

It's Wednesday night and Taylor is driving us to my parent's house for dinner. I just got some news about an acquisition and have no choice but to fly back to Boston to meet with the owners and lawyers. My entire legal team will be flying there with me as well. This is the last time I'll need to fly there thankfully.

"You won't be back until Saturday morning? Why so long?" Ana asks.

"It's not that long, baby. Just two nights. You can always come with me."

"I wish I could but it's short notice and I promised Kate that I would go shopping with her Friday after work. She needs some things for her Hawaiian honeymoon apparently. She's actually dragging me to the mall"

"That's probably for the best. I'll be pretty busy and won't be able to show you around Boston, but promise me next time I have to travel you'll come with me. I'll do my best to give you as much notice as possible."

"You know I don't like for you to sleep without me. You always come back so tired." I guess that's her way of telling me she'll come with me next time.

"I want you to take that credit card and go crazy at Express," I say.

"You're so cute," she says and kisses me.

We arrive and walk into the house. Everyone, including Ethan Kavanaugh, is there. I roll my eyes. I don't know how I feel about that kid. I guess my initial jealousy about him and Ana is still there.

We are greeted by my parents and dad gives each of us a lemon martini.

"We have an announcement to make," I say just as everyone begins to eat. I grab Ana's hand under the table.

"Oh my god! What is it? Is Ana pregnant too?" Grace asks, looking a little too hopeful.

"What? No! Um, are you, Ana?" I ask.

"No!" she says a bit too loudly.

"Oh, yeah. We just had tampongate. Never mind," I say.

"What the hell is tampongate?" Elliot asks.

"Never mind that, Elliot," Ana just pinched me under the table to show her displeasure. All that did was turn me on.

"The announcement, mother, is that Ana and I have decided to move in together." Just as I predicted, mom tears up, dad shakes my hand, Mia lets out a scream that I'm sure has every dog in the neighborhood howling. Ethan congratulates us.

"That's the big announcement? You guys are together every damn night. Let's go back to tampongate. That sounds juicier," the jerk, Elliot, says.

"Well I'm so happy for you kids," mom says. "Let's get some champagne to celebrate. This is such a great time for our family. Only happiness from now on. This is just the first step, Ana and Christian. No pressure but I can't wait for Carla and I to help plan your wedding. And Elliot and Kate's baby will need a cousin to play with. From the moment I saw you two together, I knew Ana would be the girl who would change your life, Christian. I've only ever wanted you to be happy and I finally believe that you are, baby. That's all a mother can ever want. I worried about you so much." Will my mom ever stop crying? She comes over and hugs Ana and me.

"Just don't get married while I'm huge, Ana." Kate says.

"Let's focus on getting you two married, ok?" Ana asks.

"Yes! Kate, we're so thrilled for you to become part of our family. And Ethan, we've loved getting to know you so far. Let me go get that champagne, and ginger ale for you, Kate."

The rest of the evening is full of talk and laughter. Mom even gets me to play the piano for everyone. It's almost ten o'clock by the time we get back to Escala.

On the way home, Ana called her parents, who were surprisingly together, to announce her soon to be new living arrangement. Thankfully Ray acted surprised and Carla seemed to be genuinely happy. They promised to come visit within the next few weeks, and I'm actually looking forward to it.

1.5 WEEKS LATER – AFTER ELLIOT AND KATE'S WEDDING – FIRST WEEK OF MAY

"Kate looked so beautiful in her wedding dress," Ana says as we ride the elevator back to Escala. She's wearing my tuxedo jacket over her maid of honor dress while holding her shoes in her hands. We are both exhausted from the wedding and all the activities leading up to the wedding. The best part of this week is that Ana has now officially moved in. She started forwarding her mail to Escala a few weeks ago and that makes it so much more official.

"Not as beautiful as you." God, she was stunning. I almost shed tears as she walked down the aisle towards me in her pale, pink gown. I was happy for Elliot but in that moment I was jealous that it was him getting married and not me. Soon, I tell myself. I'm going to propose soon. I want us married before the holidays. I want to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas as man and wife.

"I loved the wedding and helping Kate plan, but I'm so glad it's over. I want to spend the rest of the weekend unpacking and sleeping," she says.

"What about fucking?"

"That's a given," she says with a wink.

We arrive at the penthouse and I scoop her up in my arms. "No time like the present," I say as I run to the bedroom.

Two hours later we are sated and laying in bed facing each other. This is my most favorite time of day. We made love several times and we're still naked. This is one of the times when Ana lets in me and lets me know what she's thinking and feeling.

"Now that you're officially moved in, is there anything you want to change in the apartment? You can change whatever you want," I tell her.

"I don't want to change your home. It's beautifully decorated," she says shyly. I sigh.

"It's our home now. If you could change anything at all what would it be?"

"Nothing!"

"Ana! Come on. I know that's not true."

"It's true. You decorated your place this way. I don't want to come in here and change things. What if you don't like my taste? I doubt you want me to decorate your place with pieces from Ikea."

"Where?"

"See! You're so out of touch, Mr. Grey. I bet you hired some high priced interior designer when you bought this place."

"Our place. Say it. Say it's our place," I command.

"Your place where I now live."

"Our place."

"The place I now call home." Better but not good enough.

"Our place or so help me, I will gift it to you. I will have the deed transferred to your name first thing on Monday," I threaten.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me. Our place. Say it or I'll give you the deed and leak it to the media." She gasps and pinches my nipple.

"I would call your bluff, but I know you probably mean it. Fine! Our place! Are you happy, you big bully!"

"I'm getting there. Now tell me what you'd change."

"Ok. I might like some color on the walls. There's just too much white. Are you mad?"

"No. Why would I be mad, baby?"

"I don't want you to think I'm being critical."

"What else would you change?"

"Instead of the leather sofa and chair in the living room, I might get some warmer furniture. I'd get rid of the leather and add something softer, with lots of throw pillows. I'd add some plants, maybe some family photos on the wall. Some pictures of us."

"Ok. I want you to do that. Do whatever you want."

"What if you don't like it?"

"I would love anything that makes you comfortable here. This is your home now. I want you to do whatever you want with it. The sky's the limit. No budget. I'll have Andrea research a few interior designers and you pick the one you want to work with."

I look at her and I can see her debating with herself. I know she's going to refuse and I know why. She's still uncomfortable about the money. God, I love this woman. Most would take that black AMEX and go crazy with it. My Ana hasn't bought a thing since Aspen. I'm seriously thinking of taking her own credit cards again.

"Ok. I'll paint and get some new living room furniture, but you have to agree to whatever I pick out before we order anything. I won't get anything too expensive." I'll be sure to tell the designer not to show her any prices. This woman is going to be the death of me, but I'll die a happy man.

"Come here, my little cheapskate," I say as I pull her on top of me.

"Tell me what you're looking forward to the most."

"That's easy," she says. "I know I'm going to love Christmas here. I want a huge tree that I want us to decorate ourselves. I have a bunch of ornaments that I'd like to use. I'm sure Grace has plenty from your childhood. I think our first Christmas together will be amazing."

I know it will be. I can already picture it. I can imagine us making love in front of the fireplace with nothing on but our wedding rings.

1 MONTH LATER – JULY

ANA

It's been one month of pure bliss of living with Christian. I fall deeper in love each day. True to his word, his assistant had the CV's of 5 top interior designers. I decided to go with someone by the name of George Day because I liked his designs the most. He came over and we decided on paint colors for the walls and furniture for the living room, from catalogues George had with him. I got really suspicious when he refused to tell me the price of anything.

We decided on warm, neutral colors, with lots of throw pillows. He added a coffee table and end tables and gave the room a completely different look. I went to a nursery and filled the apartment with plants. Gail has been tasked, by Christian, to put fresh flowers in the apartment several times per week.

The designs were complete a few days before my mom and Ray came to visit and we had the entire family over for dinner on Saturday night. Mrs. Jones agreed to work that night and we cooked an elaborate meal. Everyone, including Ethan, who has now moved back to Seattle permanently and is officially dating Mia, had a great time. We ate, drank, and laughed. Thankfully the Greys didn't start with the inappropriate sex talk or I would have been mortified in front of my parents.

Carla went crazy over the penthouse. She thought it was the most beautiful place she's ever seen and can't wait to come back for another weekend. Dad, as usual, was not too impressed with such extravagance.

Christian had to go to Portland yesterday for business and got stuck there due to a heavy rainstorm. He was unable to fly the helicopter, but was going to drive back to Seattle. I was able to convince him to stay for the night since the weather was so bad. I told him I would worry about him too much if he I had to think about him driving in a rain storm. He had meetings all day today and I only saw him briefly, but since it's Friday night, he made reservations for the two of us at Canlis, one of Seattle's most elite restaurants. The best part is that it's just us. There will be no security.

Just as I'm ready to zip up the red cocktail dress I'm wearing, courtesy of Express, he walks into the bedroom and zips me up.

"Sorry I'm late, baby. I've had nothing but meetings all fucking day. Come here," he says as he kisses me deeply.

"You look beautiful. I'm going to take a quick shower and we can go."

"Ok. I've missed you."

"Missed you too, but we have the entire weekend together," he says as he runs into the bathroom. I follow him in there and finish straightening my hair and put on some light makeup.

"Oh, I almost forgot," I say to Christian as he's putting on his cufflinks. He put on another suit, but no tie. He looks absolutely yummy with the top buttons undone. "I got you a present."

I see his eyes light you.

"Really?" He says like a little boy on Christmas.

"I sure did. Remember when we were in Aspen and I said that I should tattoo Ana's property on your forehead? Well this is the next best thing," I say as I hand him the gift bag.

He pulls out the contents and begins to laugh. His laughter is contagious and soon we're laughing so hard our eyes water.

"You like them?"

"I love them. I'd put one if I wasn't already dressed."

"Maybe you can just wear them around the house." I found this website that designed tee-shirts and ordered several with Ana's property, Ana's man, If lost please return to Ana Steele, and I love Ana written on them.

"I'll wear them anywhere because they're true. Thank you, Ana. It's the second best gift I've ever received."

"I highly doubt that, but what was your first?"

"Your virginity," he says and I blush. Such a caveman.

The restaurant is packed since it's Friday night and our arms are intertwined as the hostess leads us to our table. I thought he would get us a private room, so I'm surprised when she leads us to a secluded table. I've heard of his restaurant, but it's my first time here.

He orders us a bottle of champagne.

"What are we celebrating?" I ask.

"A very successful merger."

"Oh? Which merger is this?"

"You and me merging our lives. To us," he says and we clink our glasses.

"To us."

"You're too far away," he says, patting his lap. We're in a secluded spot but we're still in the main dining room. I look around to see if anyone is looking at us. I notice an older, skinny blonde woman and a younger brunette looking our way. I think nothing of it and look back at the handsome man in front of me.

"People will see."

"Let them see. Come on," He pats his lap again. Not wanting to be away from him for another second, I walk around and claim my seat on his lap. This is how the waiter finds us as we order our appetizers and main course. We feed and kiss each other during the entire meal.

"What's your favorite part about living together?" I ask him.

"I love everything about it. I love going to sleep with you and waking up to you every night. I love knowing that you'll be there when I return from a business trip. I love the cooking you do on the weekend. I just love being with you every moment," he says and I see the love shining in his eyes.

"Those are the same things I love." I've never been into public displays of affection, but I just want to kiss this man all the time. He must feel the same way because he starts to kiss and bite on my neck. I can feel him start to harden underneath me.

"Well isn't this cozy," I hear an unfamiliar voice say. I look up and realize it's the older blonde and younger brunette who were looking at us earlier.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Elena?" I hear Christian ask. Gone is my carefree lover.

Elena Lincoln? The woman who took advantage of a 15 year old boy? I look at her and she looks like she's had one botox injection too many. Her hair color looks unnatural and she's bone thin, giving her facial features a bird like appearance. I can feel the bile rise in my throat.

"Leila and I just thought we'd come over and say hello, darling. I'm sure you remember Leila. She was with you for almost a year, after all," Elena says. I feel Christian stiffen as he grabs my hand. I look at this Leila and notice that she has her head down. It dawns on me that she must have been one of his submissives. I remember doing a little research right after I met Christian. One of the rules of being a submissive is looking down until you're given permission to look at your Dominant in the face. I think I'm going to be sick.

She's about four inches taller than I am, and looks like she spends hours in the gym. Her hair is shiny and perfectly straight. What little I can see of her face, it appears to be flawless.

Christian takes me off his lap and stands up and stands in front of Elena.

"Get the hell out of here now!"

"Aren't you going to introduce me?" She asks. She steps around him and addresses me. "I'm just an old family friend. I've known Christian since he was a boy. We have quite the history, don't we darling?" She says looking back at Christian.

"I've seen all the articles and TV coverage about your relationship. I didn't expect her to look so plain in person." I'm too stunned to speak. I see Leila look at me and smirk.

"Leila, speak to your master," Elena says.

"Good evening, master. I was telling Mistress Elena that I'm ready to come back to your playroom at anytime, sir," she says addressing Christian.

"I'm not your fucking master. Either you two leave or I'll have security escort you out. You're pathetic, Elena. You're of no consequence in my life. Don't you have your failing salons to run? And fail they will. I've made sure that no bank will ever give you a loan. You're on limited time. I hope you've enjoyed yourself tonight because I'm going to bury you," he says through gritted teeth.

"You think you and your family can ruin my business and you get to run off and live happily ever after with this milquetoast little thing? Do you know who you're with, Anastasia? Can you take a belt to your naked ass or a cane? You don't seem like the type. Go back to the back woods of Montesano where you belong, little girl," she says while looking at me with such venom in her eyes.

"What the fuck did you think you were going to accomplish here, Elena? I've let you live in peace, but now you're going to know what it's like to fuck with Christian Grey."

"Christian, please. We can work something out," she says as she reaches out and tries to put her hand on his chest. I snap out of my daze and step in front of Christian before she can reach him.

"I believe we told you to leave, you duplicitous bitch." My adrenaline kicks in and I grab her by her bleached blonde hair and twist as hard as I can. She loses her balance and I shove her down and she falls hard on her bony ass. She gasps as I yank on her hair again, pulling out a handful of extensions. Leila jumps up and helps her off the floor. I take the fake hair and toss it in the old bitch's face.

Christian pulls me back and steps in front of me. The hostess comes up to us and asks if everything is ok.

"No, things are far from ok. If you want to do business again with anyone named Grey, I suggest you escort Ms. Lincoln and Ms. Williams out of here immediately. I highly suggest that you never allow them into this establishment again," Christian says. Security shows up immediately and Leila and Elena are escorted out.

I sit back down, too stunned from the turn of events to speak. What started out as an amazing evening just ruined by two uninvited intruders.

"I'm sorry about that, baby." Christian says as he sits back down. "Please don't let them ruin our night. Do you want dessert?" Is he kidding?

"I want to leave, please."

"Ana.." he begins.

"I said I want to leave," I say through clenched teeth. He sighs and gets up, offering me his hand. We walk out of the restaurant and to the car in complete silence. The silence continues until we step back inside the apartment.

"Say something, please, Ana."

"Master? She called you master?" I ask incredulously. I see Christian grab his hair and cover his face with both hands.

"That was part of BDSM."

"Is that what she called you?"

"Sometimes, yes." I shake my head and walk away from him, towards the bedroom. I don't know what else to say. I'm not brave enough to ask in what context she called him master.

"It's part of my past, Ana. A past you've known about since the first night we met. I didn't keep anything from you. I told you all about it. You don't get to act like I hid my past from you because I didn't. I told you all about Elena and the submissives."

He's right. He did. I knew from the beginning and I told him I would never judge him based on his past, and I haven't. It's one thing to have him tell me. It's a whole other thing to have his past in my face.

"You're right. You did. But hearing about it and seeing it are two different things. How long were you with this Leila?"

"9 months."

"That's longer than you've been with me. Did she have what we have? Did you treat her like you treated me until you got sick of her and dumped her for someone new? Is that what I have to look forward to?"

"Are you fucking kidding me right now? No, god damn it! I've never had what I have with you with anyone else. I've never loved anyone else. I've never introduced my family to anyone else. I've never made love in my bed with anyone else. I've never been touched by anyone else. You're it for me, Ana. Don't let them ruin our night," he begs.

I know this man loves me. I know it and I love him, but seeing up close the type of woman he was with just makes me feel lacking in every way. Me and my fifty dollar dress from Express next to someone who looks like a super model. How can I keep him for long when someone who looks like her only had him for nine months?

I feel the tears start to fall and I quickly wipe them away.

"She let you do all those things you like to her. She's probably some sort of sex goddess and now you're here with Ana the virgin. Is that enough for you because I sure as hell won't take a belt or a cane. I'll cut out my own tongue before I will ever call you Master. And I'll look you in the eye whenever I damn well please."

"I'm not stuck with you, Ana. I love you. I'd die for you. I don't give a shit about Leila or any other woman from my past. You're acting ridiculous right now. You knew I had a past. I'm sorry about what happened tonight, but that's ancient history so stop with the damn tears," he yells.

"You don't get to yell at me and trivialize my feelings. How would you feel if someone from my past confronted you while we were out having a romantic evening? How would you feel if Paul Clayton came up to you and told you about how he stuck his hand in my panties and touched my pussy? Would you be fine with that knowing it all just a part of my past?" I yell back in his face.

"I'd rip him apart limb from limb and throw his parts into the Puget Sound. Are you happy? I'd kill anyone who would dare say those things about you." He grabs my arms and pulls me to him. "You're mine," he says with a false calmness.

I pull away from him, aghast at his double standard.

"Well that's how I feel, Christian."

"And I never asked or expected you to be my submissive. That's bullshit. I'd never ask you to take a cane or anything else. That's a non issue." He's pacing the room and pulling at his hair. "Let's get in bed and talk resolve this."

"I don't want to go to bed. I'm going into the library to clear my head," I say and run out of the room, leaving him standing there. I lean against the door and close my eyes. I hear a large crash, which I assume is Christian throwing everything off the dresser. I hear a string of expletives before I walk away and find solace in the library.

 **I thought I'd throw in a bit of drama. All of that sweetness and fluff was giving me a toothache. I hope you enjoyed chapter 14. That bitch toll and Leila the sex zombie crashed their romantic evening. Do you think Ana overreacted or can you understand her position? I got a lot of requests to not end this story, so I'll keep it going for a little bit longer. It won't be extremely long, but I won't end it just yet. Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Thank you all for reading and reviewing.**


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15**

 **All credit to ELJ**

 **CHRISTIAN**

How in the fuck could such a perfect evening have turned to shit? I toss all the contents on the dresser onto the ground. I'm so fucking angry! I have half a mind to go and choke the life out of that cunt's emaciated body.

I'd been looking forward to this evening all damn day. Being away from Ana last night, all I wanted was to have her on my arm and take her some place nice. I knew she'd never been there before, and I wanted to share this experience with her. Everything was perfect. She was in my arms. We were talking about us, and those two bitches show up and blow the entire evening to hell.

What if this master thing is just too much and she wants to leave me? Leave our home? Fuck if I'm going to let that happen. I'll lock her in this goddamn apartment until she sees reason and realizes that. we belong together, and that I need her. Hell, I might even have to call Grace over for reinforcements if necessary. If she wants space tonight, she can have it, but we're going to resolve this tomorrow morning.

I know one thing's for sure. It was no coincidence that Leila and Elena were at Canlis tonight. Elena is way too calculating for that. She's been watching me and biding her time. I pull out my phone and email Barney, telling him to find out who Elena has been talking or emailing these past few months. I'm going to find out exactly how that bitch knew where to find me.

But she's going to be in for quite a surprise on Monday.

I text Taylor and tell him to meet me at the apartment immediately. I don't give a shit if it's late. He knows he doesn't get to work a traditional nine to five working for me. I walk to the living room and pour me a scotch as I wait for him. He shows up not two minutes later.

"I need you to visit Leila Williams first thing in the morning. She violated the NDA. I need you to put the fear of God into her and take the car."

"Yes, sir. Should I not pay the tuition for her art school when the fall semester starts?"

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I had completely forgotten that part of the agreement was that I would pay for her school, living expenses and provide a monthly allowance. I haven't thought about Leila or Elena in months and Taylor is the one tasked with making the payments. It's a secret account that only he and I know about. Whenever I would get a new sub, it would be his job to buy them a new car, and pay for whatever expenses I would agree to once our contract was terminated. Now I have to tell Ana about this arrangement. I'd keep it to myself, but I would hate for those bitches to find a way to let her know. I can't keep this from her when I've always promised her total honesty.

"Yes. She can figure out how to pay for her own school and get a damn job to support herself. And break the lease to her apartment. She can go live under a fucking bridge for all I care." Maybe she can share the space under the bridge with Elena because when I'm done with her, that's the only place she'll be able to afford.

"And Taylor, why the fuck didn't you remind me about this shit? I would have cut her off as soon as Ana came into my life. Now this is another thing she's going to get upset about," I say as I throw my glass against he wall. "Fuck!"

"May I ask what brought this on, sir?" I tell Taylor what happened at Canlis tonight and Ana's assault on Elena.

"This is why I don't like for you to go out without security, sir." He has to throw that shit in my face. When I told him he wasn't needed tonight, he wasn't happy and tried to talk me out of it, but I just wanted one night with my girl where she could feel like we were just a normal couple out on a Friday night. Never again. Of all that things that I can give her, a life without personal security isn't one of them. Lesson learned.

"Noted, Taylor. It won't happen again. I want you at Ms. Williams' place first thing tomorrow. I don't care how much it costs to break the lease. Donate the car to the charity of your choice." I dismiss him, and I call Carrick.

"This is a surprise, son. Is everything ok?" He asks sounding worried.

"No. Ana and I were approached by Elena and Leila Williams tonight." Although my parents know about my past in BDSM and the contracted subs, it's still uncomfortable to discuss this with my father. "Leila is a former submissive that I contracted with about 2 years ago. Ana and I were having a romantic date at Canlis when they approached us and made a scene. It got pretty ugly and Ana is very upset about it," I tell him. I'm so distraught about this fight with Ana.

"God damn that woman to hell! It's always been in the back of my mind that she would try something like this. The damn media always reporting on you and Ana's relationship doesn't help this situation. What do you need me to do? I'm done with Elena Lincoln messing with my family." Carrick is as laid back and easy going as they come, but if you get on his bad side, you're fucked.

"I need you to call the banks that holds the mortgages to her salons and house. I want them foreclosed on immediately. She's struggling financially so I doubt she'll be able to afford a lawyer to sue. I want her completely destroyed, dad. I walked away and now she's trying to fuck up what I have with Ana. I won't let her do that."

"Where is Ana now, son?" Dad asks.

"She's in the library clearing her head. Seeing some woman that I was with" I begin.

"I get it, Christian. That would upset anybody. Did this woman say anything to her?"

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before I tell dad about Elena calling Ana plan and Leila calling me master. I explain our agreement and how I had forgotten that I was paying for Leila's tuition and living expenses.

Dad stays quiet for about a minute and I feel like somebody just punched me in the stomach.

"That's quite a mess, Christian. Take some advice from your old man. Give Ana all the space she wants tonight, but hash this thing out tomorrow. Don't let it go on any longer than that. Tell her everything. If she gets angry at you, just let her, ok? I know you two will work it out. Consider the foreclosure a done deal. Don't give it a second thought. Good night."

I hang up and just sit there with my head in my hands. I get up after a few minutes and clean up the shattered glass. I'd hate for Ana to come out here in the middle of the night and cut herself. Once I'm done, I pour myself another drink, followed by two more.

Other than when I'm in my office getting some work done, Ana is never away from me while we're home. I look around and remember the sad, lonely existence I led before she came into my life. She's brought so much light into this place. This place has completely transformed just by her decision to change the couch and add a coat of paint to the walls, but it's her presence here that's the most significant change. Where the penthouse was once cold and uninviting, now it's warm and welcoming. Ana. Always so reluctant to change anything, but she doesn't even realize how much she's changed my life. I'll destroy anyone who tries to take her away from me or try to ruin what we have.

What the fuck did Elena and Leila think they were going to accomplish tonight? Elena is on the cusp of financial ruin, but why would Leila risk my wrath? Risk her free tuition and a free apartment? It doesn't make sense. Elena must have promised her something. Those bitches will rue the day.

Fuck this. I'm going to the library to talk to Ana. She can get upset. She can yell. I can take it. What she can't do is give up on us.

I walk to the library and just as I'm about to turn the door knob, I remember what Carrick said. If she wants space, the least I can do is respect that and let her have whatever time she wants. But what if she decides she wants to leave? To end things and go back to her old apartment where Ethan Kavanaugh now lives? Not. Going. To. Happen. I know she loves me. She's not going to give up.

Instead of going back to the bedroom, I decide to just sit outside the library. I'll wait as long as I need to. She's still in the dress she wore for our date. I'm sure she'll want to come out eventually and change for bed. And when she does, I'll be waiting.

I don't know how long I sit there but I must have fallen asleep. I'm awaken when I feel someone pushing the hair off my forehead. I open my eyes and see the most beautiful pair of blue orbs looking back at me.

"Are you ok, Christian? Why are you sitting outside the door?" She asks. She's always so sweet. Always making sure I'm ok.

"I was waiting for you."

"Why didn't you just come in?"

"You said you needed space. I always want to give you what you need."

She looks at me and then sits on the floor next to me. The minute she pulls my hand into hers, I know we will be ok.

"I was coming to look for you so we can talk. I want to apologize for my reaction tonight. I know I said I would never judge your past, and I'm afraid my behavior tonight was not reflective of that. We've talked about it, but I was not prepared to see your past show up at our dinner table."

"I'm sorry about that, baby."

"You have nothing to apologize for. You didn't invite them. Part of my problem with us has always been my own insecurities. I always wonder why you would want to be with someone like me. I mean, we're from two different worlds, and I always worry that I might not fit into yours. Add to that your sexual past and my lack of one, and that feeds into my insecurities even more. Then I see your ex and she looks like a supermodel, and dressed like one too. And here I am. Now I know those are my issues, not yours. From the moment we met, you've done nothing but make me feel beautiful, sensual and desirable. It's just hard for me to see myself that way, but you make me feel like that every moment."

"That's because you're the most beautiful, most sexy woman I've ever laid eyes on. You're my everything. Everything I could possibly want or need in a woman, you possess. You and me, baby."

"No one else," she finishes and lays her head on my shoulder. I lean in and kiss her temple.

"I have my own insecurities too, Ana. I worry that I'm not good enough for you or that my past will be too much for you to handle. I also worry that you'll tire of a life with CPO's and being hounded by the press. One of my fears became a reality tonight when Elena and Leila showed up, but as long as we're in this together, we'll be ok. I'll always fight for you," I say with sincerity. Ana reaches over and strokes my cheek. I lean into her touch.

"I guess we all have our demons, but I will always, always fight for you. For us. I don't care how many women from your past I have to fight. But let me tell you, it was hard seeing Leila tonight. You're mine and just thinking about you being with her just made me crazy. If you hadn't stepped in front of me, I would have pounced on her to."

"You're quite the little fighter, Ms. Steele."

"You have no idea. Ray taught me how to fight, so I can take a bitch down." I believe her. "And I'm sorry about bringing up Paul. That was childish and petty. Sometimes I wish I had some experience to bring to the table. You've been with professionals, so I think you can't possibly be satisfied with me?"

"Ana, do you want to know what the most fulfilling sexual experience of my life was?" I ask.

"Oh, I don't think I want to know that, Christian," she says.

"It was that first night with you, in your old apartment and in your old bed. That afternoon, you gave me something that you've held on to for twenty two years. You touched me, and I don't just mean physically. You are the only woman I've ever loved. The only woman I've ever made love to."

She turns and looks at me, her eyes full of unshed tears.

"Really?"

"Really, baby. No one or nothing has ever come close."

She grabs my face and kisses me gently on the lips. "I love you, Christian, and I'm so happy you were my first." And only if I have anything to say about it.

"I love you too, Ana." I say, pressing my forehead on hers.

"Let's go wash this night off of us. How about a bath?"

"That sounds wonderful," I say, getting up and offering her my hand.

"Let's go to our bedroom," she says, making my heart burst with love. Our bedroom.

"You know what upsets me the most?" she asks as we walk hand in hand to our bedroom.

"What?"

"The fact that I allowed them to ruin the perfect night we were having. After they were escorted out, I should have just climbed back into your lap and ordered the cheesecake that I was craving. I played into their hands and I let them win. Never again."

"You were upset, Ana. Had it been the other way around, I would have turned Canlis inside out."

"Let's go back tomorrow night and do it over. That is, if you want."

"Anything you want, baby."

We step into the bedroom and I sit on the bed and pull Ana onto my lap. She immediately puts her arms around my neck and I pull her into my body, hugging her tightly.

"I have one more thing to share with you, Ana. Please don't be upset and remember that all of this was put in place before we met."

She pulls out of my hug but still remains on my lap.

"You're scaring me, Christian."

"Before I got involved with any of the former submissives, I made all of them sign a non disclosure agreement. Part of that agreement is that they are prohibited from approaching me or any members of the Grey family, or even talking about our arrangement with anybody. She obviously broke that agreement after tonight. I called Taylor in here to discuss tonight's events and he reminded me that I had agreed to pay for Leila's art school tuition and living expenses. That was one of the things we negotiated before she agreed to sub for me." Ana is looking at me dumbfounded. She looks less than happy with me right now. This is the night from hell.

"You've been supporting another woman and you want me to believe that a control freak like yourself just forgot?." She attempts to get up but I hold her in place. She's not running away to the fucking library again. We are going to resolve this now because I want to get back to our happy, blissful place.

"I did forget. Taylor is in charge of making all of those payments. The spring tuition was due weeks before we met," I rush to add.

"And you said living expenses. What exactly does that mean? Did you buy this woman a house? Are you buying her groceries? Putting money into her bank account?"

"No, I didn't buy her a house, but I have been paying for her rent and Taylor has been giving her a monthly allowance." It's a chicken shit move, but I have to put as much blame on Taylor as possible. She tries to get up again, but my grip is far stronger.

"Taylor? Taylor doesn't do shit without direction from you! Don't put this on him! It's your money. Is this what you do for every woman? You made me think that I'm special and you've only ever wanted to take care of me, but here you are supporting another woman at the same time you're telling me how I'm the only one?" She asks in disbelief.

"You _are_ the only one. I want to do those things for you. I want to be a part of your day to day life. This was just an arrangement with Leila. It' a transaction. It means nothing," I say quickly. She's once again trying to get up but I hold her tight.

"Let go of me!" She yells.

"No! You're not going back to the fucking library tonight. If you want to yell at me, go ahead, but we're going to talk about this right now."

"Is that so? You forget that I don't take orders from you. I never signed one of your fucking contracts, _Master_ ," she says sarcastically.

"Will you stop throwing that in my face. I never asked you to sign a god damn contract. I gave up that shit before I ever met you so let's deal with this situation at hand, not some shit you've concocted in your head. The truth of the matter is I did forget. She means nothing to me and I haven't thought about her in god knows how long. I've always been and will always be honest with you. And don't you ever fucking call me Master again, Anastasia. That's bullshit! You say that you don't judge me about my past but when you hear something you don't like, you throw my past in my face. Fuck this!" I say angrily. I pick her up and set her aside and get up. Let's see how she feels to have me walk away from her! I start to walk towards the door.

"Where are you going? We are having a discussion." She yells, following me outside of the room.

I decide to be petty and childish. "I'm going to go think. I'm sure you'll understand," I say sneeringly as I walk down the hall towards the living room.

"I said I was sorry for walking away earlier, Christian. Will you talk to me, please? Please." She says as she catches up to me and grabs hold of my hand. I stop and spin around to look at her. She looks up at me and her eyes lock with mine.

"The support ends now! She can take out a fucking loan to pay for her tuition like most people do. And she can figure out where the fuck she's going live."

"Well if you had let me finish, I would have told you that I already informed Taylor not to pay for the fall tuition and to break the lease to her apartment, and end all support. I'm handling it, Ana." All of a sudden, I'm exhausted. I'm tired of fighting with this woman. I just want to crawl into bed and sleep.

"What else? Are you supporting any other women?"

"Well just Mia's shopping addiction," I try to joke but Ana doesn't so much as crack a smile. At least she's still here. "No, baby. You're the only woman in my life. You're the only one I want to support."

"I believe you, Christian." Well thank fuck for that. "Is there anything else you need to tell me? Let's just get everything out in the open now because I hate fighting with you."

"Just two more things. I had Taylor slash your tires that afternoon you came to my office. I paid the garage to tell you that the transmission needed to be replaced because that car was a deathtrap and I didn't' want you to drive it. I was already in love with you and worrying about you every minute. After Paul gave that interview to the tabloids, I tracked him down and threatened to destroy him if he ever spoke about you again. I might have pushed him up against a wall," I say shrugging. He's lucky I didn't punch his face in.

"My car, Christian? I really loved that car. You had no right to do that, but I was planning on getting rid of it anyway. It was just too old and too expensive to maintain. Why did you do that?"

"Before you came into my office that afternoon, I decided I was going to be in the garage to offer you a ride home when you discovered your tires were slashed. That was the only way I could think of to get you alone with me." It's kind of embarrassing to think about now.

"You couldn't have just come downstairs and talked to me?"

"I didn't want to seem desperate," I say. God, that sounds pathetic. "I'm sorry. I was so out of my element. We slept together and you shut down on me right after. I couldn't stop thinking about you and I thought your car was unsafe. I figured I'd solve two problems at once. I'll buy you another car. Whatever type of car you want, as long as it's safe."

"Oh, really? And you won't freak out when I drive it?" She asks. I hadn't thought of that.

"Why the hell would you need to drive your own car? You have Sawyer and Prescott for that," I argue.

She gives me this long, exaggerated eyeroll.

"Not necessary. You have like three hundred cars in the garage. Why would I need one? Can't I use yours?" She asks. I think she's finally starting to get it now. What's mine is hers.

"Of course, you can, baby. You can use anyone of the cars. And you can drive them as long as you have a CPO with you. And I only have fourteen cars, not three hundred." Three hundred would just be absurd.

"Is that it?"

"Is what it?"

"Are those all your secrets?"

"Yes."

"Well Paul's an asshole so he deserved it. Thank you for defending me. I'm sorry for shutting you out after our first time together, but that didn't give you the right to mess with my car, but I forgive you for that. I'm sorry for all of the fighting tonight. I just handled everything all wrong. Can you forgive me for allowing those women to ruin our night and for the master comment?"

"Of course I forgive you. And you didn't ruin our night. You're human and you reacted. I can't even begin to imagine how I would have reacted if the shoe had been on the other foot. And I said some horrible things to you after the first time we made love. I'm sorry too."

"I just have one more question," she says. Oh, god. What now?

"I'll always be honest with you, Ana, but you can't get mad at me for things that happened before we met."

"You're right. I won't."

"What's the question?"

"Have you ever buckled anyone else's seatbelt?" I smile and kiss her forehead before I answer.

"No, baby. You're the only woman I've ever buckled. Only you."

"Oh, Christian," she says as she wraps her arms around me. I hold her against me and just enjoy having her so close. She jumps up into my arms and wraps her legs around me.

"Are you done fighting now?" She asks as she has her face buried in my neck.

"God, I hope so. Let's go take that bath." With her legs still wrapped around me, I carry her back to the bedroom and set her down. I start to walk to the bathroom to draw the bath, but she stops me.

"No, I want to take care of you tonight. I want to show you how much I love and appreciate you," she says to me.

"Ok," is all I can manage to say. This woman has driven me to exhaustion.

She comes and slowly unbuttons my shirt. I shrug out of it as she unbuckles my belt and helps me out of my pants and boxers. She then pulls back the covers on the bed.

"Lay down. I'll come and get you once I fill up the tub." After I climb in the bed, she puts cover on top of me and gently kisses my lips. Now, that's what I'm talking about. There's my sweet Ana. I watch as she goes into the bathroom. I can hear her walking around and I hear the water running. I figure I can close my eyes for just a few minutes. I'll just close them until she comes and tells me that the bath is ready.

I wake up to the sound of rain against my window and a completely dark room. I look around and see that the blinds are closed. I look at the clock and see that it's 10, and I realize that I'm the only one in the room. Ana's side of the bed is empty and cold.

ANA

When I wake up, it's a quarter past nine. I look at Christian and he's still sound asleep. After drawing a hot bath filled with a soothing eucalyptus blend, I walk back to the bedroom only to find Christian in a deep sleep, and snoring lightly. I don't blame him for falling asleep. Ever since those bitches interrupted our night out, it's been a rollercoaster ride. I just drained the water from the top, undressed and climbed into bed with my man.

I look at him and he looks so young as he sleeps. I gently trace my finger tips over his mouth, and he stirs just a little bit. I lift up the covers and see that he's completely erect under the covers. The man wakes up with a huge erection every morning and we never let it go to waste. I want to climb on top of him right now, but he was so tired last night. It was well after three when I climbed into bed with him, totally giving up on taking that bath.

Christian was right about one thing, though. His past is just that. It's the past and I need to let that go, and I need to work on my insecurities. He's done nothing but show me how much he loves me and how much he wants to be with me.

I climb out of bed and decide that I'm going to make him breakfast in bed this morning. We don't have anywhere to be and the weather doesn't look too good. I just want to stay in, snuggle and forget all about yesterday night.

I grab a pair of black yoga pants and one of my new tee shirts and decide to shower in one of the guest bedrooms, so I don't disturb my sleeping boyfriend.

I think I'm going to make French toast, scrambled eggs, fruit salad and coffee. Once the French toast is done and I've cut up the strawberries, pineapple, and grapes for the fruit salad, I start the coffee. I'm in leaning inside the fridge, getting the eggs when I feel a hand on my ass.

"That's a mighty fine site," Christian says wrapping his arms around me from behind. "You look amazing in those yoga pants." I turn around and wrap my arms around him and notice that he's wearing his I love Ana tee shirt.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," I say.

"Mmmm. Good morning. I see you got yourself a custom made tee shirt too. I think I like it, Ms. Steele," he says referring to the pink Ana loves Christian tee shirt that I'm wearing.

"Well it's the honest truth, Mr. Grey," I say.

"It better be, woman. I guess I missed our bath last night," he says as he plants a wet kiss on my neck.

"We have all day for that. I was going to bring you breakfast in bed this morning. You were so exhausted last night."

"Breakfast smells good, and I'm starving. Fighting with a certain blue eyed brunette just depleted all my energy."

I bite my lip, not really knowing how to take that. Last night was just one huge clusterfuck. He grabs my chin and pulls my lip from between my teeth.

"No more fighting, Ana. At least not about last night, ok?"

"Ok. Why don't you go back to bed and I'll bring you your breakfast? I'm taking care of you today." He stretches and lets out a loud yawn.

"Ok, but I'll take my coffee now." I pour him a cup. He leans down and gives me a kiss before heading back to the bedroom.

"You make a mean French toast, woman!" Christian says as he swipes the last piece of French toast from my plate. "I'm going to get fat if you make that too often." I look at his chiseled body and lick my lips.

"I doubt that, but even if you get fat and lose your hair, I'll still love you," I say. It's the honest truth.

"That's good to know, and I'm going to hold you to that. Now come here," he says as he puts our plates on the nightstand. I move closer to him and lay my head on his chest.

"Do you know what you need in your bedroom?" I ask.

"Whose bedroom?"

"Our bedroom. Do you know what _we_ need in _our_ bedroom?"

"That's better. What do _we_ need?"

"A tv. I like to watch tv in bed, and I'd like to do that with you on lazy days like today."

"I hardly ever watch tv, but for you, I will make it happen. Now, come here. It's been almost three days since I've been inside you," he says as his lips find mine.

When our lips touched, it was like a bolt of electricity went through my body. Christian smothered my face with kisses, laid me on my back, ran his hands down my arms, then lifted them above my head.

"I want to see you," he said, and the way he said it caused goosebumps all over her body. He pulled the tee shirt over her head and pulled off her pants and underwear. In no time, he was naked as well. When we were both nude, Christian leaned above me and looked at my body. My breath was coming in short gasps and I felt very hot. He kissed me and I closed my eyes and let the sensation flow through my body. I could feel his kiss all the way down to my toes.

He began kissing my body. Slowly, as though he had all the time in the world. He moved from my neck down to my breasts, taking turns sucking each hardened nipple. I arched my back and put my hands in his hair. His hair was soft, thick and full.

Christian moved downward, kissing my waist, his tongue making little circles against my naval. All the time he was kissing me, his hands were touching me. He kept kissing me, kissing my thighs, between my thighs, my calves, even my feet.

I was on my elbows in order to look at him. He put his hands on my knees and slowly slid them up my body, over my breasts, and up to my neck, and at last to hold my face. He looked in my eyes then. He studied me, as though he were looking for something, as though he were trying to find something within my eyes.

I laid back down as he lowered his body onto mine, his weight on me feeling glorious. He was so large, and I was so small. I rubbed my bare thigh against his as he kissed me. He softly bit my lips, ran his tongue over them. He rolled over, putting me on top of him. I kissed his eyes, his temple and bit his earlobe. He let out a loud yelp when I bit down too hard.

In mock anger, he began nipping at my shoulders, rolling us over and getting back on top of me. He then nipped at my breasts. He seemed to go from being a calm man to a wild one. I reacted to his passion and touched him everywhere.

He started to kiss at my mouth again, but now there was a new urgency to his kisses. I began clawing at him, running my nails against the warm skin of his back. I moved my thighs against his, felling how hairy and rough his were. Without any warning, he entered me, sheathing himself completely as I gasp at the intrusion.

He began to move himself out of me slowly, and then slide back in over and over again. He started his long, slow thrusts. Christian held my hips and began to guide my movements, so that my movements matched his. It's amazing how we always fit so well together. I began to feel the beginning of my orgasm. I look at Christian's face and see his doing his best not to come before me. I raise my hips a little higher and as he increases his pace. Inside of me, the excitement kept on building, until I exploded. I clutched at Christian as he collapsed on top of me, emptying inside of me.

We both lay there sweaty and clinging on to each other in an attempt to catch our breath. No words are spoken as he slides out of me, turning me around and putting my back to his chest. He pulls me as close to him as possible. We lay there, content and satisfied, as sleep takes us both.

I feel someone stroking my hair and I swat their hands away.

"Baby, wake up. Carrick just called, and he and mom are on their way over here. He wants to talk to me about the Elena situation. Get up unless you want my mom to walk in on us again," he says with a chuckle.

"Let her. I don't care," I say groggily as I pull the covers over my head.

"Come on, baby," he says as he pulls the covers off and lifts me off the bed. I try to jump out of his hands, but he puts me inside the shower, where the water was already running. He puts me down and I stand in there giving him the death glare. The warm water feels good and soon, the grumpiness leaves me. We wash quickly and after I put on a pair of skinny blue jeans and a beige cold shoulder top, I rush out of the room and quickly clean up the kitchen. As soon as everything is put away, I hear the ping of the elevator, and Grace and Carrick walk in.

We all hug and Grace and Carrick tell me how wonderful the place looks.

"This place use to be so cold and impersonal. You've really made this a home, Ana," Grace says to me as she looks at all the family pictures we've incorporated into the décor.

"She sure has," I hear Christian says as he walks in. He shakes hands with his father and kisses his mother. It's then that we all notice what he's wearing. I'm going to kill this man while he's wearing the Ana's property tee shirt.

I see Grace put her hands to her mouth as she tries to hold her laughter.

"Interesting shirt, Christian. I have to get something like this for your father," Grace says.

"Everybody already knows who I belong to, Grace," Carrick says good naturedly. "And Christian, that shirt is redundant. Everybody knows you belong to Ana."

CHRISTIAN

Dad and I excuse ourselves after exchanging pleasantries and sharing a drink. I text Jason to meet us in my office and I've informed dad that I've also invited Elliot. Dad doesn't say anything but think he realized how upset Elliot was about the entire Elena thing. I just want to make sure that I don't keep Elliot in the dark anymore.

A few minutes later both Taylor and Elliot walk into my office.

I bring Elliot up to speed on what happened at Canlis the night before. I see him clench his fists and I can see the anger behind his eyes.

"I should go over there right now and choke the life out of that old, shriveled up cunt," he says.

"I don't need to be bailing your ass out of jail, Elliot. Remember your pregnant wife? And watch your mouth. Your mother and I raised you better," Carrick says.

"Sir, I've paid Ms. Williams a visit and she now knows the consequences of violating the NDA. She's been informed that she's now responsible for her own tuition or financial support, and she has ten days to vacate her apartment. I've donated the car to a battered women's shelter. She put on quite a show, sir. She cried and begged me to call you. Apparently, Mrs. Lincoln promised her a reunion between you two," Taylor informs us. The nerve of that bitch.

"What's this now?" Asks Ellio

I tell him about Leila's part in this. His eyes bulge.

"Are you fucking kidding me, C? Ana hasn't ripped your balls out? No wonder you're wearing that ridiculous shirt."

"Let's just say it's been a rough few hours. We're ok though." I don't offer any more details than that. What was said between me and Ana is just between us.

"I'm glad to hear it, son. That couldn't have been easy for her to hear. Now with regards to Elena, she's several months behind on mortgages for her home and her salon. It won't take much convincing for the bank to foreclose on her. I'll remind Washington Mutual that you're a big client. Consider it a done deal."

"Good. I want her run out of Washington."

"I want her dead," says Elliot.

"I've also talked to Barney. We're still not sure how Elena knew you'd be at Canlis last night. Did you have a reservation, sir?"

"I did. Andrea made it for me."

"Barney thinks that she must have paid one of the employees to tip her off whenever you made a reservation. She's been close to your family so she knows Canlis is a restaurant that you visit often, but he's still checking to see who she might have known there."

"I need some answers as soon as possible. Whoever that person was just made an enemy out of me. You're dismissed, Taylor, unless you have something else."

"Good night, sir," Taylor says and leaves my office.

"So, C. Let me check and make sure Ana didn't rip your balls off," Elliot says.

"Funny, Elliot. Don't worry about Ana. Don't you have a pregnant wife that you need to take care of?"

"Oh, she's out there probably eating you out of house and home. She's constantly hungry, C. I don't know how I'm going to survive this pregnancy. I had to defrost a casserole in the middle of the night last week."

"Poor, Elliot. Kate's the one who's pregnant but we have to worry about how _you're_ going to survive the pregnancy," dad says as he rolls his eyes and walks out of my office.

When we step back in the living room, there is music playing and I smell the aroma of cooked food. I see Ana pulling something out of the oven and I see that it's lasagna. Kate is munching on a cheese plate, mom is tossing a salad and Mia and Ethan have just walked in. I notice that Kate is now starting to show. Elliot walks up behind her and puts his hand on her growing stomach and whispers something in her ear. I see her put her head back and reach up and stroke his hair. He kisses her temple and they continue to cuddle right there in the middle of my kitchen.

I go to Ana and put my arm around her. I see that she's changed out of her shirt and is now wearing's another tee shirt that says I love Christian, this time in blue.

"Was there a sale on those shirts? You two look ridiculous," Elliot says as he and Kate are now fighting over the cheese and crackers. She takes the entire thing and move to the other side of the kitchen.

"You're just mad because no one loves you, El," Mia says.

"I love you, babe," Kate says with her mouth full.

"Yeah, just not enough to share the damn cheese with me."

"What about Canlis, Ana? I thought you wanted to go back there tonight. And when did you have time to cook a lasagna?"

"I made it the other night when you were in Portland and had it in the freezer. We can eat as soon as the garlic bread is done, baby. Forget about Canlis. The family's here and Kate was complaining about being hungry. I figure we can have an early meal together," she says.

I get closer to her so that only she can hear me. "I was looking forward to spreading that cheesecake all over your body."

"We have three cans of whipped cream in the fridge. You can lick that off my body," she whispers. I'm ready to throw everyone out so I can put that whipped cream to good use.

"Dinner's almost ready, everyone. Elliot, let your pregnant wife eat," my mom chastises him. "Ana and Christian, I think those tee shirts are wonderful. You guys have given me an idea. I want us to take a family picture next Christmas and I want us all to wear matching shirts," mom says and we all groan.

"I'm not wearing anything with antlers," says Elliot.

I look around and Mia and Ethan are now setting the table.

"Do you need me to do anything to help, baby?"

"You can get some more wine and some seltzer for Kate. Oh, and you can give me a kiss."

"Happy to oblige," I say as I pull her into my arms and kiss her deeply, biting her bottom lip. I put my hand on her stomach like Kate did to Elliot and wonder what it would be like to feel our child growing in there. A child created out of our love. I see her eyeing me and I just smile and kiss her lips again.

 **These two gave me whiplash this chapter. I'm glad they are back to their fluffy selves. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter, and the overall response to this story. Please let me know what you think about chapter 15.**

 **Laters, baby.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Dear readers, I made a mistake in my last chapter with the timeline. Chapter 15 took place in the month of May, not July like written. This chapter jumps 1 month and we are now in June. Ana and Christian met in January.**

 **I own nothing. All mistakes are mine.**

CHAPTER 16 – 1 MONTH LATER

JUNE

ANA

"No! Get out! Go back to the bedroom!" I yell at Christian as I try to prevent him from seeing the birthday cake I'm frosting for him.

"I got lonely in there," he pouts. "Join me."

"Can't. Get dressed and I'm taking you to breakfast. Yes, I'm taking you so you can leave your wallet at home. Now get!"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," he says giving me a mock salute.

Today is Christian's birthday day and I have a full day planned. I left him sleeping in the bedroom two hours ago so I can bake him a chocolate cake, which I've learned is his favorite. I must really love this man to get up this early on a Saturday to bake! I finish frosting the cake and go find him in the bedroom.

"Hey, baby," he says as he takes me into his arms. "I think I'd rather have you for breakfast," he says as he nuzzles my neck.

"You can have me tonight. You can have your way with me and fuck me six ways to Sunday, but we have plans for you birthday today. The first on my list is to get you fed."

"I'd rather get fucked," he says and I laugh.

"There will be lots of fucking tonight. I promise. Now lets' go. I want you all to myself before everybody comes over for the party tonight," I say as I put my arms around him, get on my tippy toes and give him a slow, lingering kiss.

"Mmmmm," he says. "Since you're hell bent on feeding me, let's go before I throw you on the bed and have my way with you."

"Let me change first," I say.

"I'm going to make a quick call. I'll be waiting in the living room."

"No work on your birthday," I say with my hands on my hips.

"No work. I'm calling Elliot," he says and winks right before he walks out of the bedroom.

I quickly put on a pair of skinny jeans and a new tee-shirt that Christian hasn't seen yet. Since we're walking to breakfast, I grab a pair of peep toed wedges, apply some light make up and go to find my man.

He's standing in the living room with his back to me, but he turns around when he hears my footsteps. I see the smile on his face when he sees my tee shirt.

"Christian Grey's girl, huh?" He asks. "I like how that sounds. Should I change my shirt?"

I look at him and he has on a simple pullover that shows his broad and muscular chest. I lick my lips involuntarily.

"Nope. You look great. This is your birthday and I want everyone to know that I'm your girl."

He throws back his head and laughs. I laugh with him just because it gives me so much joy to see him this happy.

"Everybody already knows that, Ana."

"Yes, but I want to flaunt it," I say as I do a spin. "No more trying to shy away from the world about us, Christian. I'm so proud to be yours, and I want everyone to know it," I say. I hope he sees my sincerity. I think back to my reaction when pictures of us first came out, and I feel ashamed. This man has done nothing but express how much he wants to be with me, and I've shied away from it, claiming that I wanted privacy. The truth of the matter is that I was worried that I wasn't good enough, sophisticated enough, or had the right pedigree to be with him. The way he treats me, looks at me, touches me shows me exactly how he feels, and I want to step up my game and let him know how much he's loved in return.

"Let's go get me fed, baby," he says.

"Let's walk. It's a beautiful June day." He takes my hand and we step inside the elevator. Taylor follows us inside. Ever since Elena and Leila crashed our date night at Canlis, we no longer go anywhere alone. I never thought I'd see the day that I would be used to full time security following me, but that's part of being with Christian, and I want every part of him.

We walk through the lobby with our fingers intertwined and walk the short distance to Dish, our breakfast place after the first time I spent the night at Escala. Who would have thought back then that I would be living there now?

When we walk in, we wait a minute for the hostess to lead us to the private room, and I see people looking at us. Once the hostess leads us to the room, I take Christian's hand again and walk to our table and take my place on his lap.

"You wearing that tee shirt for the entire world to see is the sexiest thing I've ever seen," he says as he nuzzles my neck. I put my hands in his hair and stroke his scalp. I pull my head back and look in his face.

"You know that I love you, don't you, Christian?"

"Of course I do, Ana."

"I really do, and I know that I was reluctant about our relationship in the beginning, but I want you to know that's no longer the case. I'm so in love with you, baby. You make me so happy and I want everyone to know it," I say, hoping he can see hour sincere I am.

"I know, baby. I understand why you would be reluctant. I'm just glad that I wore you down and we're together now. That's what matters. And you're the one who's made me the happiest man on earth. You'll never know how empty and meaningless everything was until I met you that night of the grand opening party. I should give Ros a raise for convincing me to open up that daycare."

I lean in and kiss him, and hug him closely.

"Good. I want you to feel nothing but love on your birthday."

"That's all I ever feel from you."

The waiter comes and takes our order of French toast, steak and eggs, coffee and juice. We spend the next hour feeding each other and stealing kisses. Just as before, the waiter doesn't bat an eyelash at me sitting on his lap. To my surprise, Christian actually lets me pick up the check for breakfast.

"I'm surprised you let me pay so easily. I was ready for a fight," I say.

"One of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Fair warning. It will never happen again," he says and I roll my eyes at him.

"In that case, I will savor this moment that much more," I say as we intertwine our fingers and walk out of the restaurant. As we were walking back to Escala, I felt my cell phone vibrate and stopped to fish it out of my purse. Christian's phone went off too and we both laughed. Mia forwarded us a picture of us walking to Dish with my Christian Grey's girl tee shirt. I'm sure there will be plenty of articles talking about my choice of attire. He lifts me up and kisses me right in the middle of the sidewalk before we continue our walk home.

CHRISTIAN

"The second part of your birthday surprise will be ready in a few minutes. I want you to sit here and I'll come get you when it's ready, ok? No working while I'm gone!" Ana says as we step off the elevator. The only thing I want on this birthday is to fuck my girlfriend but she won't let me until tonight. I don't know why I'm so insatiable. We were up until very late last night indulging in each other, but I can never seem to get enough of her. It's her own fault for being so sex. I watch her tight little ass sashay out of the room towards the bedroom and I have to fight the urge to follow her in there.

"A word, sir," Taylor says as he approaches me. Judging from the look on his face, this isn't good news. I so don't need this shit on my birthday of all days.

"Yes, Taylor?"

"Elena Lincoln is in the lobby," he says.

"What the fuck is doing here?"

"She's desperate, sir. She didn't have the funds to pay her mortgage and the banks foreclosed on her. She has until Wednesday to vacate the premises. She has no money and no place to live."

"So, what the fuck does she want me to do about it? Does she think I'm going to write her a check?" I say as I run my fingers through my hair. The last thing I want is for this hag to ruin what is turning out to be the best birthday of my life. She's not going to ruin this like she did last year or on our date night at Canlis a few weeks ago.

"Tell her if she leaves now, I won't get a restraining order on her ass. I'm not dealing with that shit today," I say.

"Dealing with what shit?" Ana asks as she comes back to the living room. Fuck. I didn't want her to know about this.

"Elena Lincoln is in the lobby," I tell her.

"Are you serious? Let her come up," Ana says.

"What? No!" I say a little too loudly.

"Why not? I'm curious to know what she wants, and I'm hoping she gives me the opportunity to slap her again."

"No, Ana. I don't want her ruining our perfect day," I say remembering all the fighting that ensued from the last time we saw that bitch.

"Christian," Ana says as she crosses the room and grabs my hands. "Elena Lincoln will never come between us again. She's a nonissue, but I don't want her to cause a scene downstairs. Let her up, let's listen to whatever nonsense she has to say and let's get back to enjoying our day."

I look at Taylor and he nods his head.

"I agree with Ms. Steele, sir. She's desperate right now and acting erratically. I'd feel better hearing what she has to say with my own ears. It might give us some clues if she's planning anything."

Against my better judgement, I agree. Two minutes later, Elena steps off the elevator. I almost laugh when I see her. Elena, in all the years I've known her, has always been immaculately dressed, without a single strand of hair out of place. She always wore her signature black, and since she hardly ever eats anything, she was always bone thin. Today, her hair is a mess, she has bags under her eyes and, while still wearing all black, her clothes are disheveled and a bit snug. It looks like Elena Lincoln eats while under stress. Her five foot frame looks about fifteen pound heavier.

She sees me standing in the foyer, with Ana wrapped around my body.

"Christian," she says looking around frantically. "I want speak with you alone." She speaks in a very commanding and authoritative voice. I know that voice. It's her Domme persona. I know this bitch is not trying to dominate me in my house in front of my girlfriend. I get to my full height and look her right in the eye.

"Say what you have to say and get out. If you can't say it in front of Ana and Taylor, you can get out now. You have 2 minutes," I say and make it a point to look at my Rolex. Get on with it, bitch.

"I was hoping you could help me, Christian. The banks have foreclosed on me and I know your parents probably had something to do with it. You owe me after everything we've been through. After everything I've done for you," she says. Are you fucking kidding me? I feel Ana stiffen for just a second, and the she starts to take step towards Elena. I tighten my hold on her. I don't want her to taint herself by touching Elena Lincoln.

"It's my parents' fault that you haven't made your mortgage payments? And I have helped you out. I gave you the salons when I could have had you buy me out. Your bad management skills are what got you in this position, so you have a lot of nerve standing here making demands. Who the hell do you think you're dealing with?" I say.

"The banks wouldn't even work out a payment plan with me! This has Carrick Grey written all over it!" She says.

"Are you wasting your two minutes by playing the blame game?" I ask.

"I have nothing left. I have until Wednesday to pay off the mortgages or the banks are going to evict me. I want you to write me a check to cover the balance."

"Just the balance? How about I pay off both mortgages for you," I see a glimmer of hope in her eyes, but I quickly dash any hope when I start to laugh.

"When did you become this cruel, Christian? Did this little bitch cause you to turn on me?" She asks, looking at Ana. Taylor comes and stands in front of Ms. Lincoln, as I tighten my hold on Ana. I don't know if he did that for her safety or Ana's.

"Who the hell are you calling a bitch? Take a look in the damn mirror you bitch troll," Ana says as she tries to get out of my arms in order to attack Elena. I tighten my hold some more.

"Tell your little dog to heel, Christian," Elena says. That was the wrong thing to say.

"You get the hell out of our house, Elena. You have some nerve showing your face here asking for a hand out. You've gotten all you're ever going to get out of me. Are you that delusional that you think you can come in here and make any kind of demand? And I would what? Obey? Have you always been this stupid and I just didn't see it? You make a scene at Canlis and the bank forecloses on you, so you follow that up with showing your face here, demanding money and insulting the woman I love? What do you think is going to happen to you next? Take some advice, you old wrinkled, fat cow, get the hell out of the state of Washington before you end up sleeping on the streets," I say with dead calm. She is not going to get any sort of emotion out of me today.

"Our home? The woman you love? And you have the gall to call me stupid. Love, Christian? I taught you better. People like you don't do love, but if you want to live in this little fantasy world and pretend, go ahead. When this blows up in your face, remember what I've always taught you. Love is for fools," she bites back.

"That's where I have to disagree. You love no one and no one loves you, but you're still the biggest fool I've ever met. Fair warning, Elena. Leave town or the foreclosures will look like child's play," I warn.

"You don't own the state of Washington, Christian. You can't just order me to leave," she says.

"I can, and I just did, bitch. Now leave. You're boring me," I say, dismissing her from my penthouse.

"I guess you have another Dom now, huh?" She asks. Before I can say anything, Ana escapes my hold and goes around Taylor.

"He told you to leave," Ana says as she slaps Elena across the face. My little spitfire slaps her so hard, Elena stumbles back two steps. Elena grabs her face, howling in pain. She looks at Ana with such hatred and starts to walk towards her.

"Come on, Elena. Ever since I heard about you, I've been dying to kick your ass. Come on. Hit me back," Ana taunts. "I hear botox doesn't heal so well." I know that if Elena even lays one finger on Ana, I would kill her with my own hands. Taylor knows this too, because he grabs Elena by the arm to bring her to the elevator, but Elena tries to fight out of Taylor's grasp so he lifts her and carries her into the elevator.

"I need to have a few words with you, Mrs. Lincoln," is the last thing I hear Taylor say to Elena before the elevator closes. I close my eyes for a few seconds wondering if my birthday is ruined, and if instead of whatever Ana has planned in the bedroom, we are going to spend the day fighting instead.

"I should have never let that bitch in," I say, gearing myself for what's ahead.

"If you hadn't, I never would have gotten my chance to slap that bitch troll," Ana says. What the hell is a bitch troll? I turn to look at her and I don't see any anger, just some color to her cheeks.

"Are you ok, baby?" I ask.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asks.

"I just remember the last time we saw Elena," I begin.

"I told you I handled that all wrong. Neither Elena Lincoln or anyone else if from your past is going to influence me or how I behave. That's what they want but they have no power over us, ok? Let's not waste anymore of this perfect day on her. Come see your surprise." Thank fuck! I take her hand and she leads me to the bedroom, which is now dimly lit. I see rose petals strewn over the bed, and the smell of lavender and vanilla coming from the bathroom. She leads me to the bathroom, filled with candles and a bubble bath.

"Please tell me that this bubble bath is for two," I say.

"You're the birthday boy. Your wish is my command," she says as she pulls my shirt over my head. The rest of my clothes come off in records time. I reach over to help her undress, but she shakes her head and moves out of my reach.

"Uh uh. I take care of you today. Every single time you used to tell me how you want to take care of me, I would always roll my eyes at you, but I can see the appeal, baby. Taking care of you just does something to me," she says as she leads me to the tub and orders me to get in. I do as she says. Our eyes lock as she slowly takes off her pants and underwear. She quickly pulls the tee shirt over her head and gets in the tub opposite from me.

"This is the best birthday surprise I've ever had," I say as I feel her take my foot in her hand and starts to massage it. I see her blush.

"I'm glad you like it. You know you are very hard to shop for. What do you get the person who has everything and has more money than sense?" She jokes. "I was going to get a masseuse to come and give us a couple's massage, but I figured that might not be the best idea. So, I figured I would give you a massage."

"I love anything you give me, Ana, but my favorite thing from you is your time," I say.

"Ditto," she says but I roll my eyes. I'm never going to stop buying her things. I close my eyes as she works her magic on both feet. I'm shocked into opening my eyes when she gently bites on one of my toes.

"This is definitely a first, Ms. Steele. No one has ever done this for me," I say.

"I love having firsts with you, Christian. Come sit in front of me," she says. I quickly go to her side of the tub and put my back to her chest. She takes a loofah, lathers it up with something that smells way to girly, and washes my body. Once she's done, she massages my shoulder and back, biting and kissing my shoulders, neck and ears as she works her magic on my body.

"Ms. Steele, I can't get enough of your touch," I say, something I never thought I'd say to anybody.

"And I can't enough of touching you," she says as she gently bites my shoulder.

"You keep biting and kissing me, and I won't be able to keep my hands off you," I say. I've been fighting my desire for her all morning and I'm ready to explode.

"I remember someone told me about delayed gratification many months ago," she teases as she bites my ear again.

"And then that same wise person showed you how satisfying instant gratification could be. Remember that? I think it happened less than 24 hours after meeting said wise person," I say back. She leans in to me and sucks on my neck right behind my ear.

"You better not say that around my dad," she says making me lose my erection.

Once she's done, she orders me out of the tub where she wipes me dry.

"I want you to go on the bed and lay on your stomach. I'm not done with you yet," she says.

"If I have my way, you'll never be done with me," I say.

"I think I like the sound of that, Mr. Grey. Now get your sweet ass on that bed." You don't have to tell me twice. I lay on my stomach and wait for Ana. She comes and sits on my naked ass. I groan when I feel her bare pussy on my skin. I feel her squirt some oily liquid in the middle of my back. I smell even more lavender and vanilla. I just close my eyes as she starts to massage the oil from my shoulders all the way down to my lower back. She does this over and over again, kneading my muscles in the process. She climbs off my body and works her magic down my legs. I feel her climb back on my back and starts to trail kisses all they way down my body. I hear myself groan and start to feel myself getting hard. She stops the kisses and starts to massage my body all over again, adding more oil. I just lay there and let her work my muscles, enjoying her small, smooth hands over my body.

I've never experienced such bliss. With the touch issues I've had most of my life, this type of thing was always an impossibility. But now that I've had my first taste of the sensuous massage, I'm going to have to request them more often. I don't think I'll ever be able to have a masseuse do this, but I will always bask in Ana's touch.

When I wake up again, the room is completely dark. I still naked but now there is a blanket covering my backside. I look at the clock and notice that I've slept for about 3 hours. I quickly jump out of bed and throw on some pajamas and head out to go find Ana. Thank goodness I put on clothes because she was in the living room with Ray and Carla, drinking coffee.

Ana looks at me and smiles, but it's a fake smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. She has a look of shock on her face that has nothing to do with me. I look at her parents and notice that they are sitting very closely together and holding hands.

"Hi, honey," Ana says to me as she gets up and walks over to me and hugs me. I lean down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"They just told me they are back together. Am I living in the damn twilight zone?" She whispers.

Before I can respond, she takes me hand and leads me to the loveseat where Ray and Carla tells that they have rekindled their relationship and are now dating. Ana doesn't say anything as they tell their story, but she holds on to my hand with a vice grip.

"Oh, we have a present for you, son," Ray says as he hands me an envelope. I open it and see he's gotten me shooting lessons at the gun range in Montesano. I thank them and make a mental note to burn this gift.

"Happy birthday, Christian," Carla says as she hugs me. "Ana, why don't we let the men talk. I'd like to talk to you for a moment." I see Ana get up with that same fake smile and leads her mother to the library. Now I'm left alone with Ray.

"Thanks for coming down for my party," I say.

"Wouldn't miss it. I see you and my daughter are still just shacking up," he says and crosses his arms. This man does not mince words. Maybe I should remind him that he and Carla are now shacking up and he has no room to judge.

"Not for much longer, Ray. I have this whole thing planned but I don't want to get into it now since Ana's around. Let's just say in a week's time our relationship status will be different." Ray Steele is the only man outside of Carrick and Elliot who I have ever explained myself to. He's also the only man that I'm afraid of.

"I'm glad to hear it, son," he says as he slaps me on the back.

 **Sorry it took me so long to update. After I finished my Christmas short story, it was hard to get back into this one. If you haven't already read Santa, Baby, please give it a shot. I don't know how writers who write multiple stories at once do it. I hope you liked this chapter even though nothing much happened. Next chapter will cover the party and some lemons. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. You guys are the best.**


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

All credit to ELJ. I own nothing.

Fluff alert.

CHRISTIAN

"Why do you smell like a girl, C?" Elliot asks hours later after everyone has arrived at the apartment for my birthday celebration. He steps closer and starts to sniff me. I push him away.

"Keep your snout out of my business, Elliot."

"Oh, I get it. Ana gave you some girly smelling lotions and you felt obligated to put it on? You're such a pansy," he says as he laughs at me and shakes his head.

Everyone is gathered at Escala for the birthday dinner that Ana arranged for me. She had catering brought in from Canlis, complete with what looks like a lemon birthday cake. She went all out with filet mignon, salmon, lamb and an assortment of side dishes. She even has appetizers set out.

"Don't you have better things to do than to smell me? Why don't you go make sure your wife doesn't eat up all the food," I say to him as I watch Kate stick an entire meatball in her mouth.

"Are you crazy? She'd bite my head off if I say anything. I've never seen a person eat so much. If she's awake, she's eating."

I can tell that she's put on several pounds in the last few weeks, but I keep my mouth shut. I watch Elliot go up to her and attempt to eat a meatball. Just as he's about to bite it, she swipes it out of his hand and puts it in her own mouth. He goes around her, grabs another one and runs. She does not look happy.

I see Taylor and Gail come in from their apartment to join the party. Ana told me she invited them, as well as Sawyer and Prescott, but since they have the night off, they declined. Gail and Taylor, however, accepted. It's interesting to see Gail outside of her normal work attire. She looks quite pretty in ankle length pants and a strapless top. Her hair is out and she even has on makeup. Taylor has his arm possessively around her waist.

Grace goes over and talks to Gail, and they head over to the bar for a drink. This give me the perfect opportunity I need to talk to Taylor.

"Taylor," I say.

"Happy birthday, sir."

"Thank you. Mrs. Lincoln?" I ask.

"It's safe to say she'll be out of Washington and back to Oklahoma where she came from. I don't want to go into detail, but let's just say I put some added pressure on her. And I have someone else who will be paying her a visit to remind her of our talk."

That's code for he threatened her. I simply nod. As long as she's out of town, that's good enough for me.

"Good. Let's keep someone on her until we know for sure she's gone. And Ms. Williams?"

"She has no way to pay her tuition or support herself. She went back to the east coast yesterday. I have it on good authority that she's back at her parent's home," he tells me.

"Good riddance to them both," I say. Taylor walks to the bar and gets a drink before going back to Gail.

The elevator pings and Ros and Gwen arrive.

"Ros, Gwen," I say as I walk up to then and kiss each of them on the cheek. "I'm glad you can make it, Gwen."

"What about me? This is the first time I've ever been invited over here," Ros asks.

"Eh. You not so much. I deal with you too much at work as it is," I joke.

"Well good thing I'm only here for Ana," Ros says just as Ana walks into the room, looking so damn beautiful in a white halter top dress that comes to just above the knees. She looks like an angel walking towards us and for a few seconds, I only see her. I can't wait to see her walking to me when she's wearing another type of white dress. I wonder if she's wear a veil?

I put my arms around her as she greets Ros and Gwen.

"I still can't believe you two are a couple and this guy hasn't screwed it up yet," Gwen says. I put my hands to my heart and pretend to be hurt.

"Funny, Ros. I know how to treat a lady."

"You could have fooled me. You're no gentleman when it comes to dealing with me," she says.

"That's because you're no lady," I say as Ros and Gwen both laugh, and Ana slaps me on the chest. Just them mom and Carrick approach us.

"I was just telling your son about how shocked I was to learn about him and Ana. Do you know how I found out? I walked into his office and found Ana sitting on his lap and feeding him lasagna. God, and his hand kept creeping up her thigh. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat lasagna again," she says making a face and pretending to shiver in disgust.

Grace and Carrick both chuckle and I see Ana blush.

"Well that's nothing, Ros. I knew he had a thing for her but do you know how I found out they were together? Well," Grace begins. I look around and I see that Ray is paying attention to us. I'm not sure if he can hear from where he's standing but I'm not trying to find out. No need for me to get shot today on my birthday.

"Ok, mom. That's enough," I say as I take her arm and walk her over to where Carla and Ray are standing. I hear Ros laugh as we walk away.

"You'll have to finish that story before the night is over, Grace," Ros yells after us. I'd flip her the bird but with my future in-laws here, I have to be on my best behavior.

Ray and Carla both have a drink in their hand as we approach them. I see him lean down and whisper something in her ear and she blushes. Her blush reminds me of Ana's, but I have no desire to know what he said to her. That would probably bring back my nightmares.

Mom, dad, Ray and Carla start discussing plans for the summer, and how Carla and Ray plan on taking a weekend to go fishing. I leave them to their conversation to go find Ana, who is drinking some cocktail. She really did go all out for this party. She even hired a bartender staff to serve the food and pass around the appetizers. I hope she paid for this on the credit card I gave her, but she probably didn't. I'll wait until tomorrow to find out for sure.

I walk up to her and she hands me a drink.

"It's an Old Fashion," she says as she hands it to me. "Happy birthday, baby," she says as she stands on her toes to give me a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Thank you, Ana. Best birthday I've ever had," I say. She looks up and gives me the most beautiful smile right before she takes a sip of her drink.

"I'm glad. I love you," she says.

"I love you. So much. So, what's the deal with your parents? That was quite a surprise," I say and I see the smile leave her face. She searches the room and her eyes land on Carla and Ray, who are still talking to my parents.

"Don't get me started on that. I'll talk to you about it tonight when we're alone, but I'm not too happy about it. Anyway, let's not focus on that right now. This evening is about you. As much as I'm enjoying this party, I can't wait until we're alone. I have something for you to open," she says with a wink. I groan.

Is it too early for me to kick everyone out so that I can be alone with my woman?

Just then Mia and Ethan come up to us. Mia hugs me and Ethan hugs Ana. He's even so bold as to kiss her on the cheek. He's lucky I don't throw his ass off the balcony.

"Nobody touches what's mine," I whisper to Ana as we walk around the room. We spend the next hour mingling, drinking and talking with everyone.

At one point, Ros and Gwen take out pictures of their baby and passes them around the room. Everyone oohs and aahs and I must admit, little Henry is pretty cute. I look over at Kate, who is definitely showing now, admiring the pictures. Elliot kisses her on the temple and rubs her stomach lovingly. I see Kate stroke his hair right before she turns in his arms and kisses him lovingly on the lips. I guess when they're not fighting over food they can be pretty loving towards each other.

I look over at Ana and my eyes fall to her flat stomach. I picture her with a belly filled with our baby, and for the first time in a long time, I'm jealous of Elliot. I shake my head. One thing at a time, Grey. You and Ana have never even talked about kids, I tell myself.

Dinner is soon served, and I since the party only consists of six couples, we have a formal sit down dinner, with me at the head of the table and Ana to my right. She should sit at the other end of the table, but I just can't seem to be away from her.

"Christian, isn't it hard to eat with just one hand? Let Ana's hand go for a few minutes so you guys can eat," that dumb ass, Elliot, says.

"Mind your own business, asshole," I say as I throw a roll at him. He catches it and just as he's about to take a bite, Kate snatches it out of his hand and takes a bite instead. Elliot decides to fight back this time. He pulls it out of Kate's mouth and shoves the rest of the roll in his own mouth. We all laugh at their antics.

"Manners, Elliot and watch your language, Christian," mom says.

The rest of the evening is quite enjoyable. We listen to music, dance and laugh. To my surprise, Ray and Carla are actually great dance partners. Taylor attempts to dance with Gail, but he's way out of his element. He should definitely stick to security.

Even the presents are great this year. I got season tickets for the Seahawks from Elliot, cufflinks and cologne from Mia, a weekend fishing trip to Montana from my parents, wine from Ros and Gwen, a bottle of whiskey from Gail and Taylor, and a beautiful framed photograph of me and Ana from Ana. The picture was taken at my parents house during Sunday dinner. We are both sitting on the couch, looking at each other, and Ana is smiling up at me. I don't know who took this picture, but it's the best gift I've ever received.

"That's a cheap gift, Dad. You and mom own the house in Montana, and I get you'll want to use Christian's jet to get there," Elliot says.

"Shut up, son," dad says and throws a pillow at him. Elliot catches the pillow and puts it behind Kate's back for support.

"Don't try to eat this, Katie," he says and she slaps him upside the head.

"I don't even think I had to get C a gift. My gift to him is Ana," he says.

"How do you figure that, Elliot?" Ray asks. I wish Ray would punch him in the head.

"They never would have met if it wasn't for me," he says.

"In that case, I'm responsible too," says Ros. "I'm the one who hired Ana. I think I should get a raise."

"But none of you would have met her if not for me, so I should be the one Christian thanks," Kate says.

"I think you all give yourselves way too much credit. I would have met Ana no matter what. We are meant to be," I say.

"Aww," Mia says.

"Oh, son. I think I deserve some credit too. I invited her to dinner, remember?" Grace says with tears in her eyes again. I roll my eyes. Why must she be so embarrassing.

"Let's have dessert," Ana announces. The staff had cleared up the dishes from the dining room table and put out this three tiered cake out.

"Hold on, everybody," Ana says as she runs into the kitchen and comes out with what looks like a chocolate cake and sits it in front of me.

"I baked you your own cake. Grace said chocolate is your favorite, so I hope you like it," she says shyly. Can this woman be any more perfect? I grab her and pull her onto my lap and kiss her.

"It's perfect and so are you," I say and go to kiss her again. Before our lips can meet, I hear someone clear his throat. I was ready to say something smart to Elliot, but the culprit is Ray.

"I'll get some candles," Ana says as she jumps off my lap. Pretty soon everyone is singing happy birthday and I blow out the candles on both cakes. Grace cuts the cake and serves everyone. I smile when I realize that everyone else has lemon cake, and I have chocolate.

"How come Christian gets chocolate and we all get this one. I want some of the chocolate cake," Elliot whines.

"Too bad. My birthday, my woman, my cake," I say back to him.

"You should totally put that on a tee shirt," Mia says, and everyone laughs. Grace has the gall to pull out her phone and show Ray and Carla pictures of me and Ana the first time we wore our tee shirts in front of the family. Carla laughs and I see Ray roll his eyes as he chuckles. He looks at me and shakes his head, but I see the smile on his lips.

"You two," he says as he looks me in the eye. I see him nod slowly at me, and I think he finally realizes how much I love his daughter.

"Are you two kidding me?" Ros says. "I don't think I know who you are anymore, boss. You better not go soft on me in the boardroom."

I don't care that Ray is here. I grab Ana and put her back on my lap and feed her some of my cake. She feeds me some of the lemon cake too, but I prefer the one she made especially for me.

"Mom, I want some of the chocolate cake," Elliot whines.

"Nope! Have Kate bake you one if you want chocolate cake so badly," I say to him.

"Yeah, right. I'd have better luck having you bake me one, Christian," El says.

"Christian, share the cake with your brother," this from mom.

"It's ok, baby. I'll bake you another one," Ana whispers in my ear. I see Ray giving us the death glare, but I don't care. For good measure, I kiss her again.

"Stop looking at them like that, Ray. Our daughter is happy," Carla snaps at Ray and he finally stops with the evil looks.

"Fine, but I want some of that chocolate cake too. Annie hasn't baked for me in ages," Ray says gruffly.

"Fine. I'm feeling generous so chocolate cake for everyone," I declare, and everyone cheers. Ana kisses me on the temple and offers to slice it up for everyone.

"Ana, baby, that was the best birthday I've ever had," I say after everyone has left, including the crew.

"The party's not over yet, Christian. Now it's just a party for two," she says as she takes my hand and leads me to the bedroom.

As soon as the door closes, she's in my arms and kissing me deeply. I can still taste the alcohol on her tongue. Since she's denied me all damn day, I deepen the kiss and pull her body flush against mine. I put my hands in her hair and continue to kiss her deeply. Just as I grind my erection into her, she pulls away.

"It's still your birthday and I want to take care of you," she says as she starts to slowly unbutton my shirt. My mind flashes back to the first time we made love in her apartment. I was a desperate man then, eager to get inside of her and claim her as mine. I knew even then that once I had her, I was never going to let her go. Now I have her, but I need to keep her with me always. I'm going to make that happen soon.

She slowly takes off my shirt and tosses it to the ground. She comes back to my body and kisses my chest several times, even flicking my nipple with her tongue. I groan, fully aroused now.

She unbuckles my belt and soon I'm completely naked, with my dick ready for some attention. I can already feel the pre-cum oozing out of my tip.

"Lay on the bed, handsome," she says leading me to the bed. I reach for her dress in an attempt to undress her, but she steps away.

"Lay down. I'll be right back," she says, and she disappears into the closet.

When she comes back, my eyes nearly pop out of my head. Ana is standing before me in a pair of tiny, red lace thongs, with a bra to match. If I guess correctly, someone has been to La Perla recently. She stands in front of the bed and our eyes meet briefly before I scan her body from head to toe. This woman is a goddess. Her body is small, but toned. What little she is wearing fits her perfectly. I automatically stand up and start to walk towards her. I take her hand and pull her into my body.

"You're so damn beautiful, Anastasia. How did I get lucky enough to have you fall in love with me? I'm never letting you go, baby," I say against her lips.

"I don't want you to ever let me go, Christian. I'm yours, remember?"

I take her lips in mine once again and kiss her slowly, deeply, pouring all of my feelings into that kiss.

I feel her silky skin against my finger tips and I groan in the pleasure of her touch. I can't wait another minute to be with her. I pick her up bridal style and bring her to the bed and climb on top of her.

"I want to take care of you today, Christian," she says huskily as she tries to get on top of me.

"I've let you be in charge all day, Ana. I'm taking back control now," I say as I lay her on her back. "I want all of the control." I reach into the nightstand and grab the blindfold and cover her eyes. I unclasp her bra and watch as her breasts bounce. I quickly tie her hands to the headboard with her bra. Her nipples look like raspberries and I quickly put one in my mouth, sucking it hard. I hear her gasp but she doesn't ask me to stop. In fact, she tells me to suck harder. She must have forgotten who's in charge here. I stop and continue to travel down her body, kissing her stomach, right below her naval. I linger there a moment, thinking about when her stomach is filled with child, and how much more beautiful she will get.

I kiss her inner thighs right before I rip her panties off.

"Dammit, Christian! That one thong cost fifty-two dollars!"

Who cares? I don't respond. I'm too close to my goal. I gently kiss the top of her pussy and she instantly calms down and moans.

"Yes," she says softly. I pepper her pretty little pussy with gentle kisses as she writhes underneath me.

"Please," she says.

"I know what you need, baby," I respond right before I delve into her wet folds. I lick her clitoris from bottom to top slowly, over and over again. I take my finger and put inside her and feel the moisture coat the top of my hands. I keep licking as she continues to writhe underneath me. I increase the pressure of my tongue and I feel her get even wetter.

"You taste so good, Anastasia. You taste almost as good as that cake you made me," I say against her clit. "I want you to come, baby, but I want you to come around my dick." My mouth leaves her pussy and she groans in frustration.

I want to feel those pretty lips around my cock, so I get off the bed and go to stand in front of her. In order to get close enough for what I want, I have to get back on the bed but on my knees. I press my dick to her slightly parted lips.

"Open your mouth and suck," I say, and she obeys, opening wide, allowing me to push my dick down her throat.

"I'm going to fuck that sweet mouth of yours now," I say as I start to fuck her mouth slowly. Her hot, moist mouth makes me harder and I increase my pace. She starts to moan, and I see saliva falling out of the side of her mouth. Since I only want to come inside of her, I pull out and climb back on top of her body, slamming into her.

"Yes, Christian," she says as I start to fuck her hard, using all of my strength to thrust in and out of her. She throws her head back and the room fills with her moans. I feel her pussy become even more wet. I'm getting close, but I need her to come first. I reach up and grab one of her sweep nipples in my mouth and suck on it hard, biting it. I put my hand on her clitoris and push on it with my finger. That finally tips her over the edge and she comes, screaming out my name. I continue my relentless pace for several more thrusts before I come gloriously inside of her. I collapse on top of her, my head between her breasts.

I quickly take the blind fold off and untie her hands. I massage her wrists to remove any discomfort, and gently kiss both wrists.

I quickly move back down her body, and look between her legs where I see evidence of both our orgasms leaking out of her. I take my hand and run it over her pussy. I climb back on top and put my hand to her mouth and we both lick it.

ANA

"What are you thinking about?" I ask Christian as we lay naked in each other's arms.

"Just how different everything is from this time last year. You know what happened on my last birthday, and today was the complete opposite of that. Everything is perfect this year," he says as he kisses the top of my head.

"I know what you mean. My life is completely different than it was just six months ago," I say as snuggle even closer to him, laying my head on his chest. "If someone had told me just six months ago that I'd be madly in love with the sexiest man in Seattle, living in this fancy penthouse and being part of his awesome family, I would have had them committed."

"Sexiest man in Seattle? That's disappointing, baby."

"Sorry. Sexiest man on the planet," I correct.

"Much better, and much more accurate," he jokes.

"It was a great day today."

"The only downside was Elena showing up," he says.

"Let's not talk about that troll, especially not in our bedroom, but I did enjoy slapping her," I say. "I can't believe you ripped those expensive panties though. That personal shopper you have sent them over."

"I'll get her to send more."

"Or you can just stop ripping them!"

"I don't think that's going to happen. So, what did your mom say to you earlier?" He asks.

"Don't remind me. Just how she really messed up when she left dad and he's willing to give her a second chance and she won't mess it up again. Blah, blah, blah."

"You don't believe her?" He asks.

"I believe she means it, but she really hurt him when she left him for Stephen. She hurt all of us, but if he wants to be with her, who am I so stop them. I did warn her not to hurt my dad again," I said. "You'll have to get her her own security if she hurts Ray again, but I don't want to talk about them. I'd much rather admire the body of my favorite birthday boy," I say as I run my hands down his body, feeling his sexy abs. Thankfully Christian put my parents up in a suite at the Fairmont for the night. They plan on meeting up with some old friends in the city before heading home to Montesano tomorrow.

"Mhmmm. Spending the day with you and laying in bed with you now is pure heaven. There's nowhere else I'd rather be," he says as we lay there with all of our limbs intertwined.

"Me neither," I say with a happy sigh.

"I loved how you made me my own cake. You're going to have to make me another one very soon since our greedy family ate it all," he says with a pout.

"Speaking of family, your mom asked me to help her with the Coping Together ball this year. Actually she enlisted me and Kate. She told me the history of it, and I can't wait to help," I say as I play with the few hairs he has on his chest.

"That foundation is near and dear to the Greys. You're going to be a great addition, but nobody better bid on you at that stupid dance auction."

"You're so cute, baby," I say as I extricate myself from him and get out of the bed. "I'll be right back." I grab a small silk road and make my way into the apartment. I quickly grab something I had hid in the microwave and grab a glass of milk before making my way back into the bedroom.

"Tada!" I announce as I reveal the huge piece of cake I had put aside for him. "I hid this from our greedy guests."

"That's why I love you," he says as I climb back into the bed. We feed each other the cake as we give each other small kisses between bites.

Right before I feed him the last piece, he swipes a big piece of frosting with his index finger.

"I'm going to put this on your pussy and eat you out until you come in my mouth," he says and I instantly get wet.

"And here I thought it was your birthday. I was thinking that I could unleash my insane oral skills on you," I say as I trace my hands down his body until I find what I'm looking for. He's rock hard and ready for me.

"Oh, I like the sound of that, Ms. Steele," he says as he grabs me and lays me on top of him. "Put your pussy on my face and lean down and put my dick in your mouth."

Yes, sir, I think as I do what he says.

After we both orgasmed in each other's mouths, we made sweet, tender love one more time before we fell asleep in each other's arms. Several hours later, I wake up to an empty bed and heavy rain beating against the window. I quickly brush my teeth, shower and dress in yoga pants and a tee shirt before I go to find my man.

I find him standing in the kitchen studying his expensive coffee maker as if it was the eight wonder of the world. I walk towards him and hug him from behind.

"Why are you studying that thing?" I ask. He takes my hands from around his waist and kisses them.

"I was going to surprise you by bringing you coffee in bed but I have no fucking clue how to work this thing." I throw my head back and laugh.

"You run a billion dollar corporation, employ tens of thousand of people, make million dollar deals before most people have breakfast and you can figure out how to work this machine?"

He turns around and pulls me in his arms.

"Nope. You've discovered my secret. I'm an idiot when it comes to all things domestic. Please help me," he says.

"Fine. I'll make the coffee, but you have to sit over there and take your shirt off. I need something pretty to ogle while I operate this very complicated piece of machinery," I say flirtatiously. To my surprise, he walks to the breakfast bar, pulls his shirt over his head and sits down.

I quickly make us two cappuccinos while stealing looks at the sexiest man I've ever seen. I walk over and place his drink in front of him.

"I must say, Mr. Grey," I say as I walk behind his chair and trace my index finger over across his shoulders, "you are one sexy man. I like this. I like it a lot. I think from now on, whenever I'm in here preparing anything, you have to be shirtless. New rule," I declare.

He pulls me in front of him and places me between his legs. I wrap my arms around his neck and gently kiss his forehead.

"You want to objectify me, Ms. Steele? I'm offended."

"Don't be. With a body like that, I want to do a lot more than objectify you," I say as I lean in for a kiss. He puts his hands on my ass and pulls me into him so that I can feel his erection.

"You're playing with fire, baby. I'm the only one who gets to do any objectifying around here. In fact, I want to objectify you all over this breakfast bar," he says as he lifts me and sits me down on the breakfast bar. He stands up and starts to kiss my neck. Just as I put my hands in his hair, the elevator pings and out walks Kate and Elliot.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Christian hisses through clenched teeth.

"Ana invited us for breakfast," Elliot says.

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did, Ana. Last night I asked if you two wanted to have breakfast out with me and Elliot this morning and you said you were going to prepare breakfast at home," Kate says.

"Yes, for me and Christian. That's not an invitation," I say.

"Come on, Steele. You said you were making omelets and you know how much I love your cooking. Can you make pancakes too? Do you guys have any bacon? I'm starving," Kate says as she rubs her belly. I look at Christian and we both roll our eyes.

"I know you two aren't going to deny my pregnant wife food," Elliot says. "You can continue whatever you were doing after we leave," he says with a wink.

"Are you too cheap to buy your wife breakfast, asshole?" Christian asks.

"No, but I just can't afford to feed her anymore," he says and Kate smacks him upside the head.

"You want to go out, baby? You shouldn't have to cook for all of us. I'm about to text Taylor and instruct him to change the elevator codes," Christian says while looking at Elliot.

"I don't mind, but I need you to put your shirt back on because this," I whisper in his ear as I run my hands over his torso, "is for my eyes only."

THE FRIDAY AFTER CHRISTIAN'S BIRTHDAY

"Where are we going?" I ask as we step into the elevator.

"What part of it's a surprise don't you understand, Ms. Steele?"

"Which part of I want to know now don't you understand, Mr. Grey. I want instant gratification and I want it now!" I say as I stomp my foot inside the elevator. He just looks at me and shakes his head.

"You're so adorable when you stomp your little feet," he says.

"Don't patronize me," I say and cross my arms. He only laughs and pulls me towards him, kissing the top of my head.

"Where ever we are going, I hope Elliot and Kate don't show up," I say.

Friday nights have become our date nights, but tonight Christian won't tell me where we're going. He wouldn't even tell me the dress code, only saying it didn't matter and I looked beautiful in everything. He looks handsome as always in dress pants and a white button down. I decided on a red fitted cocktail dress, and a pair of nude Louboutin pair of peep toe stilettos.

Even though it's a warm June night, he still has on a jacket, but no tie. I roam his body with my eyes and involuntarily lick my lips. How can one man be so yummy? I see him reach inside his jacket and feel something on the inside pocket. He catches me looking at him and quickly removes his hand. He gives me a nervous smile and takes my hand in his.

We step off the elevator and enter the Escala garage. Christian takes my hand and leads me to the R8, opening the passenger side door for me. I see Prescott and Sawyer are sitting in one of the SUV's and assume they'll be following us tonight.

"You know I've always loved this car. I remember the first time I got in this car. It was right after that lunch you and Elliot plotted, and it was the first time I've ever been inside one of these," I say to him.

"Plotted? You make me sound so calculating," he says. I snort at that.

"Do I need to remind you about how you flattened my tires?" I ask as he starts the car and exits the garage. He takes my hand in his.

"I was desperate, baby. And it worked. You're mine now," he says as he kisses my knuckles. My mind flashes back to the day in Elliot's truck when he buckled my seatbelt and kissed my hand. Always such the romantic.

We continue to hold hands as he drives us through the Seattle traffic. I'm surprised when I see him pull up in front of GEH.

"This is the surprise?" I ask.

"I left something in your office this afternoon and need to get it. Let's go inside."

"I'll wait for you here. Just have the front desk let you in. And hurry up because I'm hungry," I say.

He walks around and opens my car door.

"Come on. I'm not leaving you here alone," he says as he takes my hand and pulls me out of the car.

"Leave Prescott with me then. And it's still light out, Christian."

"Come on. I'll miss you too much. Let's go."

"Why are you acting so weird?" I ask as he drags me through the lobby and to the daycare entrance. I punch in the code and open the door.

"Where are you going? My office is over here," I say to him as he starts to walk past the front desk and into the main lobby of the daycare. He turns back around and takes my hand, kisses it and leads me to the lobby.

I feel all the air leave my body and cover my mouth with my hands. There are rose petal covering the floor and dozens of arrangements of red roses all over the room. In the center of the room, I love you, baby is written in rose petals. I scan the room and right behind where I'm standing, he has roses spelling will you marry me? My eyes immediately start to water and I'm at a loss for words.

He grabs both of my hands and kisses them both before he gets on one knee.

"Anastasia Rose, in this exact same spot is where my life changed that cold January night all of those months ago. This is the exact same spot you were standing when I laid eyes on you for the first time. Ever since that first moment, my every waking moment has been consumed with you. I love you, baby. I love everything about you. I love the way you wake up in the morning with your crazy hair all over your head. I love how grumpy you are until you have your first cup of coffee. I love how you always let out a sigh of happiness after that first sip of coffee. I love how sweet you are, and I'd do just about anything to see that pink blush across your face. The sound of your laugh just fills my heart with so much joy. I love how selfless you are, how strongly you love others. I love how you've just accepted me, my baggage and my crazy, inappropriate and intrusive family. I love you so completely. I want to go to bed with you every night, and wake up wrapped around you every morning. I want to have children with you, and grow old with you. I know I'm rambling, baby, but we were made for each other. All of our past experiences have brought us together. My life was completely empty until you. Will you make me the happiest man alive and agree to be mine forever? Will you marry me, Anastasia Rose Steele?" He reaches into his pocket and opens a box with the most beautiful diamond ring I've ever seen. I don't know much about diamonds, but its bigger than Kate's and hers is 8 carats! It's a solitaire diamond and it's surrounded by other smaller diamonds all around it.

I'm breathless and I have tears streaming down my face. All I can do is nod my head.

"You will? Say it, baby. Let me hear you say it."

"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you. I'll marry you right now!" Christian jumps up, kisses me deeply as the tears run down my face. He places the ring on my finger, picks me up bridal style and spins me around the room.

"I want to get you home. Let's go," he says but he never puts me down. He continues to carry me bridal style outside of the daycare and through the lobby. Prescott has the door to the SUV open for us and I see Sawyer is behind the R8. He finally lets me down so I can climb inside the car. He starts to strap me in, but I push his hand away and climb onto his lap.

"I wanted to do this that first time in Elliot's car," I whisper to him right before we start to kiss in the back seat of the SUV. The kiss is slow and full of emotion. I realized that I'm crying again once I taste the saltiness of my tears.

"I love you so much, Christian. You love everyone so deeply, and the way you give of yourself without wanting anything back. And the way you are with those babies in the daycare makes me want to swoon. Your protective nature and your patience with me at the beginning. I was such a mess with my insecurities, but you never gave up on me. I'll be so proud to be your wife," I say through my tears. I didn't even realize we were back at the Escala garage until Prescott opened the door for us.

"She said yes, Prescott," Christian says as he holds my hand up to show her the ring.

"Congratulations to you both," Prescott says with a rare smile on her face.

We quickly arrive at the apartment. I gasp when I see that this place is filled with arrangements of pale pink and white roses. He picks up a pink rose and brushes the petals against my face.

"This color reminds me of your blush," he says and right on cue I blush. He kisses the freckles on the bridge of my nose as I start to cry again.

"Oh my god! We have to tell the family. Our moms are going to go crazy," I say. "And Ray!"

"I asked him when we were in Aspen last month. He gave us his blessing, but let's facetime him and your mom before we call my parents. I quickly grab my phone and facetime Carla.

"Hey, baby girl," she says as we connect. Thankfully Ray is right there with her.

"What's wrong, Ana? You look like you've been crying," dad says with concern.

"Happy tears, guys. Christian proposed and I said yes!" I say as I show them the ring. Carla squeal in delight and even Ray smiles. They both congratulate us and promise to come to Seattle next weekend to celebrate. Ray insists on everyone coming to Montesano within the next few weeks so he and mom can throw us a celebratory barbeque.

"Christian?" dad says, "Congratulations, son. You just continue to keep my baby happy."

"Thank you, Ray," Christian says before we end the call.

Up next, we decide to facetime Mia's phone. She answers on the first ring.

"Are you at home, Mia?" Christian asks. Mia quickly gets everyone on the screen.

"What the hell are you doing over there, Elliot?" Christian asks.

"Had to feed the wife," he says.

"Anyway, we have an announcement to make," Christian begins.

"We're getting married!" I scream to the group as I flash my ring.

The room is quiet for about 2 seconds and then everyone starts to scream and yell at once. Mom, Kate and Mia start to hug each other, and I see tears of joy on Grace's face.

"This is such wonderful news, Ana and Christian. What took you so long?" Carrick asks.

"This is such a wonderful time for our family," Grace says through her tears. "First Kate and now Ana. The Greys are truly blessed. We love you both," she says.

"Let's all go over there!" Elliot says and everyone agrees.

"No! I want to celebrate my engagement with my fiancé alone tonight. This is not a family affair," Christian says and I'm relieved. As much as I love them, I want to be alone with my man tonight.

"Fine, but tomorrow I'm taking everyone out for a celebratory dinner," Carrick announces. Everyone congratulates us again, before we exchange I love you's and finally end the call.

"Now, Ana soon to be Grey, as much as I want to take you to our bedroom, rip off your dress and have my way with you, I want to enjoy every second of our engagement. May I have this dance, baby?" He asks. I step into his arms as Bruno Mars' Marry You starts to play.

 **So, they are finally engaged. I hope you enjoyed this because I enjoyed writing it. We are almost at the end. Thank you for reading and for taking the time to review.**


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

 **THE NEXT MORNING**

 **CHRISTIAN**

"Where do you want to get married?" I ask Ana as I massage her back while we're laying in the bed. She has her back to my front and I can't help but touch her silky skin.

"Let's fly to Vegas today and get it done. I can't wait to be your wife," she says as she turns around to face me. She reaches over, strokes my face and gives me kiss. She pulls away just as I start to deepen it.

"Down, boy. We've been at it since we got back yesterday evening. We never even ate dinner," she pouts.

"You're the one who attacked me when all I wanted to do was dance with my fiancé," I tease back. We never even made it through the first song before we started to undress each other, leaving a trail of clothes leading up to the bedroom. Good thing Mrs. Jones dragged Taylor to her niece's wedding this weekend, and I changed the elevator code so my nosey and intrusive family can't just come up.

"Wrong, Mr. Grey. As usual you couldn't keep your hands off of me. Just like that first night we met, you couldn't get enough."

"I'll never get enough. Are you serious about Vegas? We can be there in a few hours and married by this evening," I tell her. The sooner we say I do, the better.

"As amazing as that sounds, I want to plan a wedding. I want to wear a beautiful white dress and walk down the aisle to you on my father's arm. I want to go wedding dress shopping with our moms, Kate and Mia. I want a bridal shower and a bachelorette party. I want to savor every minute. And I want to flash this giant ring around so everyone knows that we've decided to spend our lives together," she says. While I'm a little disappointed that we won't be getting married today, I love the idea of her being so excited about our wedding.

"You can have whatever you want, baby. Use that black Amex to get whatever the hell your heart desires. This is our wedding and there is no budget, so please put aside your cheapskate tendencies. I only have one request. I want us married by September at the latest," I say remembering my fantasy about us being already married by the time the holidays roll around.

"What? That doesn't give us much time, Christian. I was thinking a winter wonderland wedding. Maybe around New Year's Eve," she says.

"Well I'm not waiting that long to make you my wife, but we can get married in Siberia if you're intent on a winter wonderland. I don't want to wait," I say as I pick up her hand and kiss the engagement ring.

"OK. I guess a late summer or early fall wedding can be just as beautiful. Maybe by the water. Do you think your mom would let us get married on her property? It's so beautiful out there," she says. I want to laugh. My mom would be over the moon.

I'm happy to hear that Ana loves the homes by the water, because I have a surprise for her tomorrow.

"What do you think, baby? Do you think my mom would have any objections to that?" She throws her head back and laughs.

"I guess not. We can ask her tonight at dinner," she says as she climbs on top of me. She puts her head on my chest and I put my arms around her, pulling her closer. I kiss the top of her head. I trace my fingers down her back, and I feel the goosebumps against her skin.

"Mmmm," she mutters. Before we can take things any further, her stomach growls rather loudly.

"Let's go eat something, baby. Do you mind making something? I want you all to myself until we have to go out later on today," I tell her as I get out of the bed and give her my hand to help her up.

She sits on the bed and looks down at my cock while licking her lips. She reaches for it and flicks her thumb over the top, causing me to moan.

"I want this for breakfast. Lots of protein," she says.

"You're killing me, Anastasia Rose soon to be Grey," I say as I move away from her before I become completely hard. "Haven't you had enough yet? Five times is not enough for you?" The only response I get is a pillow thrown at my head.

"I'm so excited to see everyone," Ana says as we ride in my R8. Since Taylor has the weekend off, Sawyer and Prescott are following us. Dad called earlier and said he reserved a private room at Blue Acre Seafood, that place where they first embarrassed me in front of Ana that Saturday afternoon. Who knew my parents could be so sentimental?

"You look beautiful, baby. I love you in that white dress," I say to her as I hold her hand. Ana has on a simple white, lace sheath dress that comes. It's pretty short and comes to about mid-thigh. I take my hand away from hers and put it on her silky smooth thigh instead. I see her blush at my compliment and chuckle to myself. After all this time, she still can't see how beautiful she is.

"You know you're so beautiful right, Ana?" I ask her. I see her shift in her seat.

"You're biased because you love me," she says back.

"I do love you. I love you so much, and I guess I am biased, but you are the most beautiful woman on earth. I'm so honored to have you love me back," I tell her. She lifts my hand from her thigh and kisses it.

"I love you, too. So much," she says. "God, we sound like a couple of love sick fools," Ana says and we both laugh.

As soon as we arrive at the restaurant, we are told that our party has already arrived and we're escorted to our private room. As soon as we walk in, cheers break out in the room. Elliot starts to whistle, mom, Mia and Kate start to scream and run to Ana, pulling her out of my arms. Dad is clapping like a loon. Even Ethan Kavanaugh is there nursing a drink. I'm surprised to see Ray and Carla as well. I decide to play along and spin Ana around, dip her and kiss her neck. The cheers get even louder at our display.

Carla is crying as she walks and hugs Ana, and Ray pulls me into a hug. This is the first time I've been in a room with Ray and haven't worried about him possibly shooting me.

"Mom, dad," Ana says. "This is a surprise. I thought we were seeing you next weekend."

"Grace and Carrick called and we couldn't miss our baby's engagement dinner," Carla says as she wipes the tears from her eyes. I watch as she grabs Ana's face, kisses her cheeks and pulls her into a hug.

"Enough hugs and tears! Show us that ring, Ana!" Mia yells.

"Yes," Kate screams out as she grabs Ana left hand. All the women congregate around her as they admire the ring. Ana holds her tiny hand in the air and twirls it around while it sparkles.

"Damn, baby bro. Now I see why Kate calls you Mr. Moneybags. How much did that set you back?" Elliot asks. What an idiot.

"Shut up, idiot," I say as I playfully shove him away.

"It's gorgeous, Ana," Kate says and both Grace, Carla and Mia agree.

"I thought Kate's ring was big, but this is outrageous!" Mia says.

"Come here, sweet girl," mom says as she hugs my fiancé. I hope Grace doesn't embarrass me here tonight with her crying.

"Ray, Carla, you should have seen my son that first night he met Ana. He couldn't stop looking at her all night, and I just knew they would be together. I've never seen him act this way over a woman before. The next day, all of the kids came her to lunch and you should have seen the chemistry between these two," mom says. I need to nip this in the bud before she tells Ana's parents she walked in on us naked.

"Mom, please. You don't need to tell the same stories every time we get together," I say. This woman is so frustrating.

"Hush, son. This is my moment. Ray and Carla are family now," she says. How the hell is me engagement to Ana her moment? Before I can argue further, mom takes Carla's arm and walks to the other side of the room. Ray and Carrick approach me and hand me a drink, followed Elliot and Ethan.

We all exchange small talk as the women hog Ana. Now Mia is holding on to Ana's hand for dear life looking at the ring.

"I want one just like this," I hear her say. I turn to look at Ethan and he loses all color in his face. Dad turns to look at her, giving her a stern look. Mia is oblivious to it all as she continues to look at the ring.

When the staff finishes setting up our food, mom orders everyone to sit. I'm relieved because I get to sit next to my fiancé again. I put my arm around her shoulders and pull her close to me. She turns to look at me and smiles. My heart skips a beat at the sheer beauty of her face. I lean down and give her a kiss. When her father is around, I try to avoid kissing her or just limit my kisses to chaste pecks, but not tonight. I let my mouth linger on hers for several seconds. I finally stop when I hear Elliot let out a loud whistle, followed by catcalls from the girls.

"I'm so happy for you two," Grace sniffles.

"Tell us how he proposed, Ana. Was it romantic?" Mia asks.

"I hope not too romantic," Ray says. The room is tense for about a second before Ray starts to laugh. We all join in the laughter. Soon the food is passed around.

"Dad, did Mia help you with this menu? This is the exact same stuff that we had the first time we came here."

"She might have helped," Dad says with a wink.

"Yeah, we are all dying to see you feed Ana again," Mia says to me.

"God, you were so pathetic, C," Elliot chides.

"Not that pathetic. I got the girl, didn't I?"

"That's a surprise considering how ugly you are," Elliot chides.

"You sure did, sweetie. I'm so proud of you," mom says as she wipes her eyes. I roll my eyes at her.

"So, Ana. Tell us how he the proposal went, dear," dad says.

"Yes, Ana. I'm dying to hear about it too," Carla says.

"Well, Christian was acting weird that entire evening," Ana begins.

"That's nothing new. When isn't he acting weird?" Elliot says. I throw a roll at him.

"Be quiet Elliot. This is my moment," Ana says to him. Elliot pretends to zip his lips and throw the imaginary key away.

"Anyway, we usually have dinner out every Friday night after work. He told me he forgot something in my office and he had to go and get it before dinner. I just wanted to wait for him in the car, but he insisted that I go in with him. He had the lobby area of the daycare filled with red roses. I've never seen so many flowers in my life. Ana, I love you and will you marry me were spelled out in rose petals. He dropped to one knee as I stood at the exact same spot I was in when he first saw me. He asked me to spend my life with him. He told me that his life changed the minute he saw me that night. It was so beautiful," she finishes. My chest puffs out with pride as my woman tells the entire table about how I proposed.

"Impressive, Christian," Mia says.

"Who knew he had it in him?" Elliot says. I guess his lips didn't stay zipped for long.

Before I can respond with a smart ass answer, several wait staff members walk in and serves us champagne.

"Let's toast to the beautiful couple," dad says as he stands up. "Son, your mom and I are so happy for you. Ana, we have loved you since that first night we saw Christian following you with his eyes. Grace and I knew that we would be seeing more of you. You see, we know our son. We know that when he sets his mind on something, he doesn't stop until he gets it. We've never seen him react to someone like he reacted to you that night. Over the past several months, we've gotten to know you, and we just adore you. We couldn't ask for a better woman for our son. We always just wanted him to be happy. He was successful, but he wasn't happy, but in finding you, he's found his happiness. I see the way you two treat each other, the way you look at each other, and I know that you two are going to make it. Grace and I love you both, and we are so happy to call you our daughter, Ana," dad says. Now even I want to cry. All the women are openly crying. Dad walks around the table and hugs me and Ana, kissing Ana on the cheeks. Mom does the same. Thankfully she's too busy weeping to give a speech.

Everyone takes turns going around the table, talking about our relationship.

"I've been a very lucky man. My Annie never cared for boys much. She had only one boyfriend in high school and I was relieved when that fizzled out. Sorry, Annie, but I always knew that boy was a loser. But you found yourself a really great guy this time. Christian, I know I've given you a hard time. I just wanted to make sure you weren't a push over," Ray says and the entire room laughs. I won't tell him how his daughter has me wrapped around her little finger.

"Like your dad says, I see the way you look at my daughter. It makes this old man very uncomfortable, but I know you love her. That's all a father can ask for. Welcome to the Steele family, son," Rays says.

More toasts are given before we dig into our dinner. I start off by feeding Ana some of my crab cake.

"I wanted to do this that first time we came here," I say as I lift her and place her on my lap.

"Well you did a lot more than that just a few hours later," she whispers in my ear.

"What was that, Annie?" Rays asks.

"Nothing, dad," Ana says, trying to hide her smile.

ANA

"I swear his has some kind of super freakish type hearing," I whisper to Christian.

"Probably, but what can he do? I've put a ring on it," he whispers back.

"You sure did, Mr. Grey. And what a rock it is," I say as I lean in and kiss him gently on the lips.

"Stop drooling over the food," Elliot says.

"Leave them alone and pay attention to your own wife, son," Ray says.

"You better listen to Ray, Elliot Grey," Kate says between bites of food.

"Ana, we should fly to New York and go wedding dress shopping at Kleinfeld's. Do you know what type of dress you want?" Mia asks me.

"I do have some ideas, but I want Kate's mom to design my dress. I don't want to fly across the country every time I need to have a fitting. Do you think she'll do it, Kate?"

"My mom will be so thrilled, Ana. I'll call her and we'll go see her tomorrow," Kate says.

"When are you kids thinking of getting married?" Carla asks.

"I told Ana I want to be married by September at the latest. I want us married by the holidays."

"Why so fast, C. Did you knock Ana up?" Elliot asks, making me flush in embarrassment. Sometimes I just want to smack him.

"Oh, that would be fantastic. I want more grandchildren," Grace says, looking at me for confirmation.

"No, Grace," I say feeling my face getting completely red now.

"Don't be embarrassed, Ana. I'm sure Ray and Carla want grandkids too. You guys are already getting married."

"I wouldn't mind a little fishing buddy," Ray says. Since when did my father become so liberal?

"We just want to get married quickly because we love each other, mother!" Christian says. Thankfully after that, the move away from the talk about babies.

"Wow! Well we have work to do, but don't you worry about a thing darling," Grace says to me. "Between me, Mia, Kate and Carla, you are going to have the wedding of the year."

"Don't forget C's black Amex, mom," Elliot says.

"Ana has her own black Amex, idiot," Christian says to Elliot. Everyone chuckles but I feel a little embarrassed. Determined to not dwell on the money issue, I stick my tongue at Elliot and he throws a roll at me. I move out of the way and it hits Christian in the face.

"Grow up, Elliot. I could have eaten that," Kate says.

"Grace, we want to ask you something. We want an outside wedding and would love to have it on your property. You have such a beautiful," I don't get to finish because Grace lets out a loud scream.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I've always wanted to throw a wedding. You two have made me so happy. Carla and Ray, I'd love it if you spend the night with us tonight. Carla, I want to show you the property and talk ideas with you. Instead of Sunday dinner, we'll do Sunday brunch so we can discuss wedding ideas before you go back to Montesano. Oh, this is going to be amazing," Grace says.

"Thank you, Grace, but mom and dad can stay at Christian's place with us," I say.

"Thanks, honey, but we'll take Grace up on her offer. You two should have your privacy this weekend," Carla says with a laugh. "We'll stay with you next time though."

"It's our place, Ana," Christian says and rolls his eyes. "Stop saying my place when you just agreed to share your life with me." Now he sounds angry. I'm a bit irritated too because he said it loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Let's go to the bathroom," Mia says as she stands up. Thankfully that's the distraction I need to get away from this conversation. All of the women get up and we run out of the room laughing and giggling. Kate grabs my hand again and admires the ring as we walk through the restaurant and into the ladies' room.

"Ana, this rock is almost as big as your entire hand," Mia exclaims. The trip to the bathroom is spent reapplying makeup, talking nonstop about my engagement ring, wedding plans and a weekend away for my bachelorette party.

Mia wants to go to New York for the weekend, but I remind her that with Kate will be about six months pregnant by the time we have the bachelorette party that it might not be a good idea. We decide to look into spas in the Sierra Nevada region instead.

On the way back to our private dining room, Carla locks her arm through mine and we walk back together.

"I'm so proud of you, Ana. Not because you're getting married, but because you've made such a good life for yourself. I was so worried that I had damaged you beyond repair during your time in Raleigh. I'm so glad that that isn't the case," she says.

"As if I would give Morton the satisfaction. That's behind us, mom. Let's not talk about him again," I say. The last thing I want to do tonight is talk about Morton. I'm actually irritated with Carla for bringing him up. I want to celebrate my engagement with our family, and embrace my future. Stephen is the past.

When we enter the private dining room, I find my dad standing up, looking daggers at Carrick. Christian is visibly upset. Ethan is looking uncomfortable and Elliot is telling everyone to calm down.

"What's going on in here?" I ask. Everything was wonderful just ten minutes ago. What the hell could have happened from the time we left to go to the ladies' room?

"Nothing, baby. Let's have dessert," Christian says, but I don't buy it. That's the exact same line he fed when after Elena and Laila crashed our date at the Mile High Club all those weeks ago. Why does this man always want to feed me dessert whenever there's an issue? Something happened and I want to know what it is.

"Don't dismiss me, Christian. What happened?" I ask. He gives his dad the death glare but Ray speaks up before Christian can.

"Apparently Carrick wants you to sign some sort of pre-nuptual agreement before you can marry his son," Ray says while looking at Carrick. I know my dad, and anyone who he thinks has offended me is his enemy.

I shouldn't be taken aback or be hurt by this admission. My head knows that, but my heart has a mind of its own. Does this mean Carrick thinks we won't make it as a couple and that I'm only after his son's money? I mentally shake my head no. This can't be. Grace and Carrick have welcomed me into their family from day one. I have good instincts and that wasn't fake, so why would he do this now? At an engagement dinner he arranged, and in front of my father?

"Carrick Grey! I warned you last night not to bring this up tonight!" Grace says.

So, this has been on his mind.

"Grace, Christian is my son too. He mentioned putting Ana on the deed at Escala and I asked him about a pre-nup. In case you forgot, I am a lawyer. Ana, Grace and I adore you, so please don't take this personally," Carrick says to me and Grace.

"Well my daughter is not signing a damn thing until she gets her own lawyer to look at it," Ray says.

"I'm not an idiot, dad! I'm capable of looking after my own affairs. Look, Mr. Grey, of course I'll sign whatever Christian wants. I don't care about the money. And I don't want Escala, Christian. That's your home," I say to the room, feeling suddenly embarrassed by the change of events. What the hell was Christian thinking telling his father something like that.

"You will not no such thing, Ana. Have you ever known me to have another person speak for me. I don't want a damn pre-nup." Christian says.

"Well that's silly. Of course, you should want it. I'll sign it," I explain quickly.

"Not until you've had a lawyer look at it, Annie. Don't let these people take advantage of you," Ray says. I need to shut this down now before Ray really gets irate.

"What people would those be, Ray?" Christian says turning around to confront my father. Oh, shit!

"You rich people with your trust funds and offshore accounts. I've raised my daughter to be a hard worker and independent. I won't stand by and let you people walk all over her or make her feel less than because she doesn't have enough zeros in her bank account."

"I see where you get it from, Ana. Look, Ray, I don't know who you're referring to but I never had a trust fund. My parents wanted us all to work and make our own way. And those offshore accounts you have such contempt for will be Ana's now as well. And for your information, I've never even considered a prenup. I love your daughter, and I intend to share everything with her. I don't appreciate your gross generalization of what you perceive to be my type of people. Let's not forget that Ana is now one of those type of people," Christian says to my dad.

"Christian, please, let's not," I begin but I'm cut off by Ray.

"Now I wonder if your lawyer father asked your brother to have his wife sign a prenup. Did you, Carrick?" Ray asks Carrick.

"No, I didn't but that's because…" Ray cuts him off before he can finish the sentence.

"I bet you didn't. You don't need to explain why you didn't because I already know the answer. You people are all the same."

I watch as Ray now stands at his full height and approaches my fiance. Christian doesn't back down. He stays where he is, waiting for Ray to approach.

Before I can jump between them, Carla beats me to it.

"Raymond Joseph Steele, you sit down right now and stop making a damn scene in this restaurant. This is something that Ana and Christian should discuss in private. It's no one's business but their own." When did Carla turn out to be the voice of reason in the room?

"I think that's a good idea," Grace says.

"I'm ready to go back to Montesano now, Carla," Rays says still angry over the confrontation.

"You will do no such thing. This isn't about you, Raymond. We are here for Ana and we'll be here as long as she needs us. Grace and Carrick are family now, so we are just going to have to get over this issue so we can be here for our children because this is about them, not us. Now sit down! Grace and Carrick, if that invitation to spend the night is still open, we'd love to take you up on it. Ana has told me so many times how beautiful your home is and I can't wait to see it," Carla says. I watch as Ray takes a seat and start to eat a piece of pie. I almost want to laugh at how quickly my mom put him in his place, but I'm still too shaken up by the talk of money. It's hard enough fighting with Christian about it, but it's another can of worms bringing this up around his family.

"Of course, you're welcome. We're all family now," Carrick says. I look at him and he seems genuine. The last thing I want is for continue to discuss this now in front of everyone.

I was ready to just believe that he only brought this up because he's a lawyer. I know his firm does a lot family law and estate planning, so maybe this is just wired into his brain, but why would he not ask Kate? The answer to that is quite obvious.

"Yeah, let's all take bets on how much dessert Kate can eat," Elliot says trying to cut the tension in the room. Kate punches him in the arm and I give a fake smile, appreciating their attempt to lighten the mood.

Despite Elliot challenging Kate to a dessert eating contest, the rest of the meal is tense and uncomfortable. Before long, we're all saying goodbye with plans to see each other tomorrow to discuss plans for the wedding.

After opening my door for me, and seeing me inside the R8, he takes his place behind the driver's seat.

"There are a few things we need to get straight when we get home, Ana," he says to me. I sense a bit of anger in his voice. What the hell could he possibly be upset with me about?

"You bet there are, Christian," I say. Does he want a fight? Bring it!

 **A/N – I'm so sorry for the delay, but my laptop just won't charge and is out getting repaired. In the meantime, I'm using a borrowed laptop. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's rushed, but I didn't want to keep you waiting much longer. This was supposed to be the last chapter, but I couldn't help myself and threw in some drama. Next chapter will be the last, followed by an epilogue. Thank you all who take the time to read** **and review. Until Laters!**


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

ALL CREDIT TO ELJ. I OWN NOTHING

CHRISTIAN

I hold on to Ana's hand for dear life as I drive us back to Escala as quickly as possible. I look at her quickly to find her silently looking out the car window. She senses me looking at her because she turns towards me and gives me a sad smile before turning back to the window.

Damn that Carrick Grey. After all the work I've done getting Ana comfortable with our wealth and he possibly blew all my progress to smithereens because he couldn't keep his damn mouth shut in front of Ray. Why couldn't he just wait to discuss with me in private? I would have told him to mind his own damn business and that there will be no pre-nuptial agreement, and that would have been the end of it, but he couldn't do that, could he? Fuck!

In no time at all, we arrive at the garage and I hop out of the car so that I can help Ana out of her seat. I take her hand and lead her into the elevator. I put my arm around her and pull her into me. I smell her hair when she lays her head on my chest.

"You want a drink, baby?" I ask when we step back into the penthouse.

"No, thanks," she says. I run to the kitchen and get a bottle of water for myself. Ana sits at the breakfast bar and waits for me to speak. She crosses her arms, waiting for me to begin. Fucking Carrick. I wanted to come home and fuck my fiancé, not talk about money with the world's most stubborn woman.

"Baby, I'm sorry about Carrick's behavior, but you should know that there will be no prenup. It's not something I've ever even considered. Once we're married everything I have will be yours, and everything you have will be mine," I say.

"There's just one small problem with that. I don't have anything. I want to sign the prenup. I don't want there to be any room for anyone to even think I'm after your money."

"Well that's too bad. You can't sign it if there is nothing for you to sign, can you?. End of story." Bring it on, baby. I let this woman walk all over me in everything else, but not this.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. That is so."

"Oh, yes sir, Mr. Grey. Whatever you say, Mr. Grey. Will there be anything else, Mr. Grey? How high shall I jump when you order me to jump, Mr. Grey?" She says to me in the most condescendingly mocking tone. "Is that how things work on that executive suite on the 20th floor?"

I walk up to the breakfast bar, and she hops out of the stool, stands up with both hands on her hips waiting for me to approach. I get in her space and she doesn't flinch, locking her eyes with mine.

"Yes, Ms. Steele, that's how things work. You will be my wife and we will share everything. I've never been married before, but I could swear that engaged couples probably fight about the complete opposite. I want to give you everything, not go into our marriage making preparations on how we're going to divide everything if we don't make it. I don't want that."

I see her shoulder sag, and she lets out a deep breath.

"I know that Christian, and I understand how you feel. We've been engaged only 24 hours and to be honest, the prenup thing never even entered my mind. I'm just so happy to be marrying you that I didn't even think about it. I guess I should have, but I was blindsided when your father brought it up, but I don't think it's a bad idea. I just wish he had done it in private and not in front of my dad. Before you dismiss the idea, just think about it," she says to me.

"I don't need to fucking think about it. I said there will be no fucking pre-nuptial agreement and I meant what I said," I yell at her, completely losing my patience with this woman.

"Why are you being so obtuse about this?"

"This is the same position I've always had about merging our lives together. Nothing's changed for me, but why are _you_ being so obtuse? Why are you acting like you don't know who the fuck you're about to marry?"

"Well I'm the same person I've always been too, Christian. I've only ever wanted Christian Grey, the man. I don't care about your bottom line. Everyone already thinks I'm a gold digger. Now your father does too and I don't want to deal with that."

"So, you want to sign a prenup to please my father? How about you please the man you promised to marry and forget about this entire thing?"

"I don't want your father thinking I'm after your money, Christian."

"First of all, Ana, he doesn't think that. He loves you, and has supported our relationship since day one. And even if he did think that, who cares? I don't give a shit what he thinks. I know you don't care about the money. I know it, and as frustrating as that is, I love you for it, but if you're telling me you want to sign a legal document detailing who gets what in case our marriage fails because of my father, that's the craziest thing I've ever heard. Get this in your hard as a rock head. There. Will. Be. No. Prenup. You can just accept this now, or we can spend all damn night fighting about it, but my position won't change," I tell her. I need to nip this in the bud now.

"So, that's it? The great Christian Grey has spoken?"

"If that's how you want to spin it, yes."

"Why can't you see it from my point of view? The world calls me a gold digger, fine. I've learned to ignore it, but your father is a whole other story."

"He never called you a gold digger, Ana. He does this for a living. Do you think he calls person who has to sign a prenup a gold digger? But it doesn't matter what he thinks. I didn't ask him for any legal advice about our marriage because I don't need it. I already know what I want. I want you with me forever."

"Like hell, he didn't," she yells in my face. "He didn't use those words, but he implied it. He made it a point to bring it up in front of my father but never said anything to Kate about one? But I'm not supposed to take it personally? Give me a break."

"He was going to explain that but your father never even gave him time to explain. I won't make any excuses for Carrick's behavior. He was totally out of line, but your father got belligerent and wouldn't let him get a word in. He insulted me and my entire family. Carrick isn't the only one who was without tact tonight," I yell back. She looks back at me and she's even more angry.

"What was there to explain, Christian? I have the same level of education as Kate. We even went to the same college, we'll both be married to brothers soon and we're the same age. But there is one major difference though. Or maybe it's millions of differences. You tell me! If you are dead set on me signing a prenup, fine! It's your money! I'm done fighting about it but don't you stand there and tell me your father doesn't see me as some sort of opportunist," she yells. Just before she turns around to storm towards the bedroom, I see the tears fall from her eyes.

Great. Just fucking great! I'm going to give Carrick a piece of my mind tomorrow. I'd call him now, but I'm too angry and might say something I won't be able to take back. I pour myself a scotch and drink it in one gulp.

Motherfucker! We're done with the prenup fight but now I have to worry about her being uncomfortable around my father. How the hell do I fix that? Fucking Carrick! I walk to the couch and put my head in my hands. One day into my engagement and I'm fighting with my woman. We're supposed to be in our little bubble of bliss, not fighting about prenups and whose father behaved worse.

I take my phone and text my realtor, canceling our appointment for tomorrow. The surprise I had for Ana just won't happen tomorrow. I see several missed calls from Elliot. I'm not in the mood to deal with him tonight, so I don't call him back. How the fuck did this weekend turn to shit so quickly?

Just as I'm about to go find my fiancé and finish this fight, I get an email from Welch. I open it and there are pictures of Ana, including a close-up of her engagement ring. There's one of her where Mia holding her hand, admiring the huge diamond on her finger.

Great. This night is just getting better and better. The news is out, and I'll have to get with my PR and release a statement. Security is just going to get tighter.

I text Welch and confirm that we're engaged and we'd meet on Monday to discuss a strategy with PR.

What if this is too much for her and she decides she can't deal with the public nature of our relationship? If she thought the press was an issue before, it's only going to intensify once we confirm our engagement. Add to that the fact that she now thinks my father believes she's an opportunist who's after my money. And the tension between our fathers now. What if she can't deal with any of that and wants to leave me?

No. That won't happen. I know she loves me. It's in the way she looks at me, the way she touches me. She wouldn't just give up because things get a little bit hard. Just to be on the safe side, I text Sawyer to change the elevator codes tonight. Her ass isn't leaving tonight, that's for sure. I take a deep breath and go to find my fiancé.

I open the bedroom door to find Ana in bed reading, and wearing the ugliest pair of pajamas I've ever seen. It's a warm summer night, but she's in long pajama pants and a short sleeve shirt decorated with cats wearing glasses. I know Caroline Acton didn't send that over. She's covered in pussy and I probably won't be able to get any tonight.

She sees me and she puts the book down and turns her back to me. I roll my eyes. I've had enough of this shit. What the hell did I do wrong here? Why is she mad at me when all I want to do is give her everything?

"You run away in the middle of our conversation? Very mature, Ana," I say.

"I didn't run away. I told you I was done fighting. I'm tired, Christian," she says without even turning around to look at me. I notice that the fire is gone from her voice. I can't have that. I'd rather have her mad at me than just void of emotion.

"I'm tired too, Ana. I'm tired of fighting over the same shit all the damn time. Whether you like it or not, you're rich now. Not only are you rich, but you're one of the richest women in the world. Deal with it and stop acting like a child. By Monday, you will be on the deed to this penthouse, so this too will be yours. There will be no prenup. You're right that my father was an ass tonight. He hurt you and I'm so pissed at him for that, and he's going to hear it from me tomorrow. After tomorrow, you will never hear the word pre-nuptial agreement from a member of the Grey family again. Got it?" I say arrogantly.

She jumps out of the bed, fists clenched and comes to stand in front of me. It worked! I got my little spitfire back!

"Oh, yes, sir, Mr. Grey, sir!" She says using the same derogatory tone she used earlier. I almost smile in victory, but I contain myself. "Maybe you should learn to listen. I already told you you can have it your way about the damn prenup. I'm not rich, you are. And if you want to insist on giving me this penthouse, fine. I'll take it. The first thing I'm going to do as the owner is to make your ass sleep on the couch," she says as she grabs a pillow from the bed, along with a blanket. I'm doing my best not to laugh at the absurdity of this situation.

"Or you can sleep in one of the many guest rooms here. How many are there? Eight?"

"Five, but I'm not sleeping in any of them," I tell her as I walk into the bathroom and take off my clothes. I walk out in just my underwear. I see her eyes rake over my body as she involuntarily licks her lips.

"Fine, the couch it is then," she says holding the pillow and blanket. Actually, it's not even a full blanket. It's a girly little pink throw that won't even cover my feet. She thrusts them into my arms and continues to stand in front of me. "Good night."

I walk over to my side of the bed and put my pillow down.

"I don't think so," I say to her but she continues to stand in front of me, blocking me from the bed. "The only place I'm sleeping tonight is next to my fiancé. Where ever you are is where I'm going to be for as long as we both shall live," I say to her.

"Not tonight, buddy."

"And how do you think you're going to get me to the couch? Are you going to carry me there?" I challenge. I try to go around her, but she blocks me. I turn to go the other way, and she blocks me again, opening her little arms to prevent me from reaching the bed. If this wasn't so ridiculous, it would be funny. I pick her up, set her aside and climb in the bed.

"I thought you said this was my house," she says as she climbs in the bed and moves as far away from me as possible.

"It's ours. Everything is ours," I tell her.

"Do you know that I was obsessed with collecting Beanie Babies when I was a kid? Do you want half of that?"

I hold back a laugh.

"I want everything that has to do with you. So, yes. Those Beanie Babies are now ours. If you have any Barbies, I want my half of those too. What about any Strawberry Shortcake dolls? She's one hot redhead," I say to her waiting for a smart ass response. She stays quiet and I turn to look at her back that she has turned towards me. I hear her sniffle, and I see her shoulders start to shake. She sniffles again.

"Ana?" No response, just another sniffle. I move over to her and spoon her from behind.

"Ana, baby, please stop crying. We can fix this, ok?" I say as I kiss the back of her head. I feel her take a deep breath before she turns around to look at me.

"I'm not mad at you, Christian. From day one, you've wanted to give me everything and I've fought you at every turn. I'm done doing that. We're going to be married, so I'm going to stop acting a damn brat about you being wealthy. About us being wealthy, ok?"

"Thank you, Ana," I say to her as I reach over and gently kiss her lips.

"This argument tonight is not even about money. We've only been engaged a little over 24 hours. I'm sure the prenup thing would have entered my mind, and I would automatically know it's not something you'd ever consider," she says with a sad smile.

"You know me well, baby," I say waiting for her to talk some more.

"You know I love you so much," she begins and I nod. "I love our extended family too. My parents, yours, Kate and Elliot, Mia and Ethan. They're our inner circle. Your family has been so welcoming and I always assumed I fit right in. It kind of hurt that your dad made such a fuss tonight in front of my dad. Now I just worry that they don't see me the way that I always thought. I have all these questions now. Like does your mom not fully trust me? Did I ever say or do anything that could make them think that I'm the type of person who would take from you?"

"Ana," I begin but she puts her hand on my lips before I can finish speaking.

"But you are right. Who cares what anybody else thinks? It's you and me," she says and for the first time since we've gotten home, she gives me a genuine smile.

"It's our life. But, Ana, my parents love you. If they didn't, you would have known it a long time ago. But I know my father hurt you tonight and I'm so sorry for that, but tomorrow he's going to explain himself," I promise her. And his ass is going to apologize but I keep that to myself.

"It doesn't matter. It's what you think of me that matters. I love you," she says.

"I love you more. Can I make love to my fiancé now?" I ask.

"Yes, please" she says and I capture her lips with mine.

I wake up the next morning to an empty bed. I look at the clock and see it's already almost nine. What started out as gentle lovemaking soon turned into an animalistic night of passion. I thought I had done it all, but even I did something I've never done before last night. I get up, use the bathroom and brush my teeth before going to find my fiancé. I love that word.

I find her standing in the kitchen wearing a sexy, pink, silk robe, and texting someone on her phone. I watch as she puts the phone down only to hold up her left hand to admire her engagement ring. She holds it towards the light and watches it sparkle. My Ana is such a girly girl.

"Good morning, beautiful," I say to her as I hug her from behind.

"Good morning, handsome," she says back. I breathe a sigh of relief. I'm so happy to have my Ana back after last night's disastrous dinner.

"I don't like waking up to an empty bed," I say as I kiss the top of her head.

"I was going to bring you coffee," she says as she turns around in my arms. She puts her arms around my neck, gets on her tippy toes and gives me deeply passionate kiss. I'm instantly hard, and I grind my erection into her core.

"I wouldn't mind having a repeat of last night," I whisper. She locks eyes with me and blushes profusely before she looks away. I grab her chin and force her to look at me.

"That thing we did last night was interesting," she says blushing again.

"What thing?"

"You know what thing. I'm pretty sure you were there."

"Oh, you mean that thing where I licked your ass and then you licked mine? That thing?" I ask all the while holding her chin in my hand so she can't look away.

"Yeah, that thing. You are so crass, Christian Grey!" She says.

"Don't be such a prude now, baby. Let's have a repeat. In fact, you should just let me have that virgin ass." She gasps.

"You want to do that?" She asks, shocked.

"I want every part of you. Yes, I want to do that," I say as I grab her ass.

"Maybe for your next birthday," she says blushing and I laugh.

"How about on our honeymoon?"

"Where are we going?" She asks while clasping her hands together.

"That is going to be a surprise. All I'm going to tell you is that you will need a passport. Now how about a repeat of last night," I say as I start to nibble on her ear lobe.

"We can't. That was Kate. We have to be at her mother's studio by 10 to talk wedding dresses. Our moms and Mia are meeting us there, and then we'll all come back to Bellevue for brunch before my parents hit the road. Can you meet Elliot at your parent's house? I might need you to run interference between our dads."

"Whatever you need, baby. But I promise you that our dads will be fine. Don't worry about that. Just go get yourself a beautiful dress," I tell her as I start to kiss the side of her neck. She jumps into my arms and wraps her legs around me. I love that she's small enough to do that.

"I'm going to spend lot of money," she says against my mouth, and I get even harder.

"You know how much it turns me on whenever you a cheapskate such as yourself talks about spending money. Go for it. Buy ten wedding dresses," I say before I slip my tongue into her mouth. I'd love to stick something else in her mouth. Before I can say anything else, my phone vibrates. I reach for it and it's an email from Welch with another article speculating about our engagement.

"Fuck," I say.

"What's wrong?"

"There were pictures taken of you and the ring yesterday. Lots of talk about our possible engagement. You should know that we'll have to put out a press release confirming it. Security will have to tighten until the news dies down. Baby, have you given any thought to doing an interview? It will help us get in front of this thing. We can approve a list of questions," I say preparing for another argument.

"Ok," she says surprising me.

"Ok? That's it?"

"Yes. Am I that argumentative? I'm going to be Mrs. Grey and it's time all of Seattle knows it," she says with a shoulder shrug as she walks towards the espresso maker. I'm so stunned by her words that it takes me a few second for the words to sink in. I run to her and pick her up bridal style and run with her to the bedroom.

"Those are the sexiest words you've ever said to me," I say as I lay her on the bed and cover her body with mine.

ANA

I haven't had a minute alone with Kate. I missed several calls from her last night and she texted me this morning and said she need to clear something up, but we've been bombarded by my mom, Grace and Mia.

We spent hours with Kate's mom trying on dresses. I had a design in mind but I fell in love with the fourth dress I tried on. It's a white, lace sleeveless dress with a chapel train. It's fitted at the top, and has an A line gown. I absolutely love it! When Dana Kavanaugh put veil on me, everyone started to cry. Grace cried the hardest. How the hell is she going to react when it's Mia's turn.

I'm so in love with my dress, I can't contain myself. I wish I could show it to Christian, but I like the idea of him seeing me in my dress for the first time when Ray is walking me down the aisle. Kate, Mia and I are going to look for bridesmaid dresses during the week, once Christian and I agree on a color.

I'll also be interviewing wedding planner this week. Grace has already set 3 interviews for me.

We arrive at the Grey Mansion just a little after 1 pm. I was hoping to talk to Kate during the drive there, but Carla jumped in the car with me and Kate rode with Grace and Mia. For the first time ever, I'm nervous about being here.

I hope dad and Carrick haven't come to blows. Thankfully I see one of Christian's Audi's in the driveway. I jump out of the car before Sawyer can open the door for me, eager to see my fiancé. I follow Grace into the house, hoping I don't see Carrick. Grace and Mia head into the kitchen to prepare lunch. Thankfully Christian was right there in the foyer, talking to Elliot.

"Christian," I say as I run into his arms, relieved that he's here.

"I missed you, baby."

"I missed you too. I found a dress! I can't wait for you to see me in it," I say.

"My baby is going to be the most beautiful bride," Carla says to us both.

"Of course, she is. She's already the most beautiful girl on earth," Christian says to my mother. I get on my tippy toes and kiss him on the mouth right there in front of everybody. For once, Elliot keeps his mouth shut.

The kiss soon ends but we continue to hug each other. I put my head on his chest, and listen to his heartbeat. Just as I'm about to say something, I see my father and future father in law walk in from the back of the house. Fuck. At least there hasn't been bloodshed between these two.

I go and hug my dad.

"Did you find a dress, Annie?" Dad asks.

"Oh, Ray. She was a vision," mom says before I can answer.

"Hi, Ana," Carrick says, smiling at me. He comes over and gives me a kiss on the cheek. His smile seems genuine but I feel awkward standing her.

"Hi, Mr. Grey," I say holding on to Christian's hand tightly.

"Mr. Grey, huh? I don't think you've called me that since the first night at the grand opening. Listen, Ana. Can I talk to you and Christian in my office?" He asks.

"Oh, that's not necessary Mr. Grey," I say to him as I try to pull Christian out of the foyer, but he stands there like a damn statue and doesn't move an inch.

"I think it is necessary. Please, follow me," he says as he starts to walk towards his office. Now it's my turn to stand still, but Christian is much stronger than I am. When he pulls my arm, I actually move. Damn him!

"Have a seat," he says as he goes behind his desk. Christian takes a seat and pulls me on his lap.

"Awkward place for me to be having a meeting with your father, don't you think?" I whisper in his ear.

"Nope," he says and quickly tickles my ribs.

I'm taken by shock so I let out an involuntary squeal, and we both laugh. We're brought back to reality when we hear Carrick clear his throat. I quickly turn serious, waiting for him to speak.

"First of all, Ana, I need to apologize for my behavior last night at dinner. I was so excited about the engagement and couldn't wait to celebrate with you two, and I ended up ruining the evening. I want you to know that the prenup talk, as inappropriate as it was, was only because I was using my lawyer hat. It has nothing to do with you whatsoever. I hope you believe that. I can see how much you and my son love each other, and we love you for making him so happy," he says.

"Thank you for saying that, Mr. Grey," I say and start to rise from Christian's lap, but he holds me still.

"It's Carrick, Ana," he says.

"Carrick," I repeat as I try to get up again, but Christian and his vice grip won't let me up. Now I understand why he sat me on his lap.

"I know you're probably wondering why I didn't insist that Kate and Elliot sign a prenup, and I can only speculate why you think that is. I know whatever you're thinking, I'm not looking too good to you right now," he says with a sheepish smile. Is he expecting me to feel bad for him? I don't smile back.

"The reason why that is, is because Kate's father beat me to it. He actually had his lawyer draft something for them to sign, but Kate and Elliot told him to mind his own business. He called me and asked to try to convince Elliot, and I did try, but he told me no and to mind my own business. I wanted them to sign one too, but Kate's dad took the lead on that. As a lawyer, I can see the necessity, but as a father, I was out of line, and for that I'm sorry. Now, I talked to Christian this morning and he once again told me to mind my own business and that you two have made your decision. You're both adults and I respect your decision. I won't bring it up again. I'm sorry for hurting you and for upsetting your father," he says to me.

Well he's explained himself. His explanation about Kate and Elliot's prenup was not what I was expecting though. I thought it was because Kate has a trust fund and I have nothing. I can continue to hold on to my hurt feelings, or I can accept his apology. For the sake of Christian, whom I love more than anything, I'm going to accept his apology, but I'll always be a little cautious with him. His explanation seems valid, but there will always be this part of me that believes he sees me as being from the wrong side of the tracks. I'll have to verify all of this with Kate. Why the hell didn't she tell me this? She tells me everything else.

"I accept your apology, Carrick," I say and I see him smile when I call him by his first name. "I never had a problem with signing anything, you know? I love your son and I've only ever wanted him. I just wish you hadn't brought it up last night, but Christian and I talked about it and agreed not to have one. But should anything happen, and we don't make it as a couple, I would never take his money. I'm not that person," I say.

"There will never be a divorce. I'm never letting you go, future Mrs. Grey," Christian says. Then he lowers his voice and starts to whisper in my ears. "Besides, we've tossed each other's salad. You can't divorce someone when you've done that. It's the law."

I instantly feel my face turning red and I look up at Carrick. I don't think he heard, but I'm mortified.

"I can't believe you just said that," I say outraged. He just gives me a smirk and gives me a loud kiss on the lips. Carrick clears his throat again.

"I know you're not that type of person, Ana. I've gotten to know you these past few months, and I love you like my own daughter. Let's put last night's disastrous dinner behind us, and let's join the others for lunch. I'm pretty sure Kate is hungry right now." He comes around the desk, pulls me off Christian's lap and hugs me. I hug him back, relieved to be done with this conversation.

"You ok?" Christian asks.

"I'm great," I say as I put my arms around his neck. "I'm going to marry the man I love," I say as I reach up for a kiss. Before he can say anything, Elliot comes and pulls me out of Christian's arms.

"Kiss on your own time. Let's go have lunch. Kate is ready to start gnawing on the damn grass," he says as he leads me towards the patio.

"Get off my woman, asshole," Christian says as he takes my hand, and shoves Elliot away.

"Ana, Christian. Let's eat and then talk wedding," Grace says. "You two need to pick a date, colors, food, music! We have lots of work to do."

"Are you ok, Annie," Rays asks.

"I'm great, dad," I say back.

"Happy to hear it," he says. He looks at Carrick and they both nod at each other.

"Let's eat and leave the women and Christian to talk about this stuff. Christian's practically a woman these days since Ana took away his man card. There's a baseball game on TV we can watch." Elliot is such an idiot.

 **A/N** – **I can leave it here and write an epilogue, but I just love these characters so much. Ana can be so immature when the fight! LOL! I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter. I rushed to get it out because I have to give this borrowed laptop back. Hopefully mine will be repaired by tomorrow. Thank you for reading and reviewing.**


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

ALL CREDIT TO ELJ

2 weeks later

Christian

"I'm so nervous. Maybe I should stay at home and you can go watch it with your family," Ana says to me while wringing her hands.

"Our family. There's nothing for you to be nervous about, Ana. It went great, and soon the whole world will see it, so why are you hiding from our family?" I ask her as I button my shirt. Why on earth is she acting so skittish? The had agreed to do an interview with a local ABC news station, however, a national program wanted to feature the interview. One of ABC's most famous reporters came to the apartment two days ago to conduct the interview. The show is set to air next Friday night, but they sent us a copy of the interview for us to watch.

"What's the big deal, baby? Carrick was here during the taping," I say as I watch her continue to fidget.

"What's the big deal? You do this stuff all the time. What if I look and sound stupid? What if I just open up myself to be humiliated by the public?" She asks as she sits on the bed and puts her face in her hands. I walk over and sit next to her, pulling her into my lap.

"You were perfect, baby. Do you think I would allow you to be humiliated? Everyone will love you. Hopefully this will answer lots of questions and these damn reporters will stop harassing us. How can anyone not see how beautiful you are?" I say as I hold her in my arms. I realize how much of a big deal this is for her, and don't want to trivialize her feelings. Though I hardly ever give interviews, I've lived my life in the public for many years. I could give a shit what's printed about my personal life, so long as it doesn't affect my business. Ana is brand new to this so I need to tread lightly.

"I'm just scared. Elliot will make fun of me," she says with a glimmer of a smile.

"Elliot's an ass. I'm sure we can convince Kate to send him out for her latest craving," I say and she finally laughs.

"True. I'm being silly. I'll change so we can go," she says as she walks to the closet to pick out some clothes. She picks out a short, red floral wrap dress, with a pair of wedges that show off her lean legs.

We actually have a very busy day ahead of us. Before we go to my parent's house for brunch, I have little surprise for Ana, so we'll have to make a quick stop. After brunch, the ladies are off for dress fittings. Next weekend, the Steeles are hosting us for a barbeque in Montesano and I can't wait to see where Ana grew up.

"I wanted to drive," Ana pouts as she sits next to me in the R8. Ana really loves this car and drives it as often as possible. The first time she drove it, I almost had a heart attack. She recently started working out with Claudia Bastille, my personal trainer's wife. That first night, Ana met her at the gym, followed by Prescott and Sawyer. I was at the office when Sawyer called to tell me the news. Since I gave her the speech about everything being ours, there was nothing I could do about her driving the damn car. She came home and went on and on about how much she loved it. Sawyer and Prescott both confirmed that she was a safe driver. Besides, the gym was only two miles away. I was still so nervous about her driving, I talked her into working out at the home gym. I told her to just order whatever she needed. Thankfully she agreed and didn't argue. I'm sure if she knew the reason why, she wouldn't be too happy with me.

"Next time, baby," I lie thinking of what to tell her when I get rid of this damn car. "Besides, I have a surprise for you so I have to drive," I hold her hand as we drive towards the surprise. I arrive at the exclusive gated community located on The Sound. I exit the car and help Ana out.

"Whose house is this?" She asks as we hold hands walking towards the front door. Just as the realtor said, the door is open and we walk in.

"Well, this house is ours," I say as I pick her up bridal style and cross the threshold.

"Ours? What do you mean ours?" She asks dumbfounded.

"Ours as in I bought it for us."

"You did what? You bought us a house? What about Escala?"

"That's ours too, but that's more of a bachelor pad. I want something that's more of a family home," I say as I put her down.

"A family?"

"Yes." We've never talked about it, but I assumed she would want kids.

"Uh, can we look around?" She asks avoiding the kids issue. We're definitely having this discussion before we leave here today.

I take her hand and together we tour the fifteen thousand square foot mansion, complete with swimming pool, hot tub, tennis court, home gym and every modern convenience known to man.

The house is structurally sound, but needs to be renovated. In fact, I want to tear it down and rebuild it. I take her hand and lead her to the back patio, overlooking the sound. I pull her to me and she wraps her arms around my waist as we admire the view.

"I can't believe you bought this house for us. You're insane, do you know that? I love it and I love you," she says as she wraps her arms around me, putting her head on my chest. I'm relieved that she feels this way. She promised to let go of her hangups about money, but I'm always waiting for her to argue with me.

"I was thinking we can tear it down and rebuild it. We can hire an architect and design our own house."

"I love the house just as it is. It just needs a little tender loving care. I don't want to tear it down," she says. I look down at her clear blue eyes as she stares at me.

"Whatever you want, baby. We can have Elliot take a look at it and discuss our options," I check my watch and text the realtor telling her that we are leaving the house.

The ride to my parent's house is only about 5 minutes and I don't have enough time to talk about the kids issue with Ana. We can tackle that tonight when we're home, but we have a schedule to keep today. We arrive quickly and find the entire family there waiting for us.

I watch as Ana hugs everyone, including my dad. We've seen Carrick several times since the prenup debacle, and I've noticed that Ana's body language changes slightly whenever he's around. She's still her friendly self, but I know my woman well. I study her and I notice every nuance. She's still not completely over what happened yet, but she's pretending that everything is fine. I suspect she's doing it for me.

"Let's watch the show. Lunch won't be ready for a few minutes. I'm so excited about our dresses," mom says as she leads us into the family room. I hand dad the DVD and he scurries to set it up. I take a seat next to Ana, put my arm around her and pull her towards my body. She responds by kissing me on the cheek and putting her arm around my torso. This is heaven.

The DVD comes on and I hear the voice of the reporter. The first portion is a brief biography of my life. He mentions my adoption into the prominent Grey family at the age of 4. There are pictures of the family, including one of all of us when mom received an award from the hospital. They mention my attending Harvard and then dropping out in my junior year, the beginning of GEH and Its quick success. Of course, during all of that, they make mention how I've never been seen with a woman, and mention the rumors of me being gay until I was photographed with Ana.

Next, they go into Ana's biography. Specifically, her humble, blue collar background. Of course they mention her mother's many marriages and her father's military career. They plaster several pictures of her as a child, which she provided, including her high school and college photos. I turn to Ana and see her blush before she tries to bury her face in my chest. I grab her face and kiss her on the lips.

"You're perfect," I whisper to her. I feel her relax against me before she turns back towards the large flat screen TV.

There are several more pictures of me and Ana shown on the screen that cover our entire relationship, some of which I've never seen before.

After the introduction, the interview begins with Ana and I walking into the room holding hands. I decided on a navy blue suit, white shirt and no tie. After trying on a few dresses, Kate convince Ana on a rose pink shift dress by Akris with a boat, dot cut out neckline. The reporter makes sure to mention the hefty price tag of $1200 and I feel Ana shift uncomfortably, but she says nothing. She simply grabs my hand and I squeeze it, eliciting a smile from her before she turns her attention back to the TV.

The reporter sits across from us. Ana looks so tiny as she sits close to me, holding on to my hand just as we're doing now.

The reporter wastes no time and gets right down to her questions.

Reporter: _For years you, Christian, have been a_ _well known_ _and respected business man in both the US and internationally. Even though you're well known, your personal life has remained a mystery. There have been numerous_ _reports speculating as to why you've never been seen with a woman. Many have speculated that you're gay, asexual, or just a_ _one night_ _stand type of guy. But just a few months ago, you were photographed with Ms. Anastasia Steele. I'm just going to ask what the world wants to know. How did you two_ _meet_ _?_

Christian: _GEH recently opened an onsite daycare. My COO, Ros Bailey, was_ _responsible for its implementation, and she_ _interviewed and hired Ana_ _as the administrator. GEH threw a small reception to celebrate the grand opening, and I met Ana there that night._

Reporter: _Did sparks fly that night?_

Christian: _For me, they absolutely did. I saw her and she was the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on._

Reporter: A _na, did you feel the same way?_

Ana: _Well I definitely thought he was good looking when I first saw him._ _There definitely was an instant attraction on my part._

Reporter: _Are you telling us you had no idea what Christian Grey looked like before that night?_

Ana: _Well, I had heard the name before. You can't be from Washington and not know the name. I really had no clue what he did or what his company was about. My roommate_ _was also dating his brother, Elliot, at the time, which is how I was able to get an interview with GEH._

The reporter gives a brief history on Elliot and Grey Construction.

Reporter: _Let's go back to the night you first met. Who made the first move?_

Christian: _That was definitely me. After the party Ana, Elliot, Kate and my sister, Mia all had plans to go for drinks afterwards. I tagged along. The funny thing is that my brother was actually trying to set Ana up with someone else._

Reporter: _Sounds like the plot to a romantic comedy. Tell us more._

Ana: _As fate would have it, the other guy wasn't interested in me._

Christian: _And Ana made it clear she wasn't interested in_ me _._

Reporter: _Ana, are you telling the world that you weren't interested in Seattle's most eligible bachelor?_

Ana: _Oh, I was interested, but you have to understand. I was new at the job. He's the owner of the company and we come from two different worlds. I didn't think we had anything in common and I let all of those issues get in my head. I thought it was best not to get involved._

Christian: _I didn't listen._

Reporter: _It's obvious you changed your mind. How did you manage to convince her, Christian?_

Christian: _I did the only thing I could do. I asked my big brother for help. He invited Ana to lunch with him and Kate and I just happened to show up._

Reporter: _And the rest is history?_

Ana: _Not exactly. He did crash the lunch, and we did have a good time. He invited me to have dinner with him and his family the next day, I turned him down._

Reporter: A _re you telling us that you turned down dinner with the family of Christian Grey?_

Ana: _I did. I was still reluctant to get involved._

Christian: _My feelings were a little hurt (Christian says this and Ana kisses his cheek) but I wasn't going to give up. Unfortunately,_ _I had to travel out of town for work the next day._

Ana: _While he was away, I couldn't stop thinking about him._

Christian: _Really? You never told me that._

Ana: _A girl's_ _gotta_ _have some secrets. I got Elliot to do some snooping and when he told me he was in the building, I went to find him. And the rest, as they say, is history._

Christian: _It_ _was history since the moment I laid eyes on her._

Reporter: _Are you saying you had strong feelings for her since the first night?_

Christian: _I'm saying it was love at first sight, as cliché as that sounds._

Reporter: _And for you, Ana?_

Ana: I _t took me until the next day to fall in love with him._ (Ana blushes)

Reporter: _But you initially refused his advances. What happened the next day that changed things so drastically for you?_

Ana: _It was just_ _the way he was. I got a first glimpse of Christian Grey, the man, not the business tycoon._ _Looking_ _back now, I realize how ridiculous I was being. He's amazing. The most amazing person I've ever met. There are_ _so many_ _words I can use to describe him._

Reporter: _Like what?_

Ana: _Smart. Generous. Passionate. Romantic. Kind. Handsome. Funny. Extremely patient. He gives of himself and expects nothing back. He's very protective, and he's a nurturer, a caretaker. He's simply amazing._

Christian: _You think I'm funny?_ (Ana nods and he leans in and kisses her.) _I_ _think you're the most stunning person I've ever met. I have only one word to describe you. Perfect. You're perfect in every way._

Reporter: _Ana, give us an example of how Christian is a caretaker?_

Ana blushes and looks at Christian, who shrugs playfully.

Ana: _There are so many things. For one, he always makes sure that I eat. If he's away on a business trip, he'll have breakfast and lunch delivered to me. If I don't feel well or if I'm upset about something, he picks up on it right away and does his best to fix it. He just takes care of me._ _Not just me. He takes care of everyone he loves. He just loves so deeply, so completely._

Christian: _That's what I've wanted to do since I first saw her, but she takes care of me just as much. She's my go to person. The one I want to share every detail of my day with._

Reporter: _How did your families take the news about you two dating?_

Ana: _Well, they were all there the night we met. They came to the grand opening, and his family is wonderful. They are extremely welcoming._

Christian: _My parents love_ _Ana and have from day one. She has a much smaller family than I do, but I get along great with her parents. I admit, her father scared me at first, but now we're great friends._

Reporter: _Ana, you mentioned earlier that you were reluctant to be with Christian because of your differences. Were you_ _intimidated by the Greys' wealth?_

(Ana shifts uncomfortably) Ana: _Yes, I was. I admit that I thought I wouldn't fit in with his world. I'm ashamed to admit it now, but the Greys are like any other family out there._

Reporter: _Let's talk wedding. When?_

Christian: _Soon. That's all we're going to say._

Reporter: _You two have only been together a few months. Why the rush?_

Ana: _Because we love each other and want to make a lifetime commitment._

Christian: _What my_ _fiance_ _just said. Look, we are just like any other couple out there who are madly in love._

Reporter: W _ill there be a prenup? We know_ _you're_ _worth billions. What kind of measures will you take to protect your assets?_

Christian: _Why would I need to protect my assets from my wife?_

Reporter: _Are you saying there will be no pre-nuptial agreement?_

Christian: _That's exactly what I'm saying. This is something we've discussed in private and don't want to go into any further._

The interview goes on for several more minutes. They go on and on about how much I'm worth, how much Escala is worth and the price of Ana's engagement ring. It finally ends with last quarters earnings from GEH.

"You two are so adorable," Mia says. "Did that ring really cost five million dollars?" I see Ana look at the ring, and then look at me for an answer.

"No, it didn't. And that's all I'm going to say."

"Do you guys want to know the best part about the interview? It was when Christian gave me all the credit for getting you guys together," Elliot chimes in.

"Like hell, Elliot Grey! I'm the one who convinced her to give him the time of day." Kate always has to give her two cents.

"I don't think so. I pretended to like that boring Sam Hardy so that Christian could get Ana's attention," Mia says. She did what? I'll need to get more information about from my little sister. Did she really do that for me?

"That was such a sweet interview, kids. The way you two are with each other is everything. I pray that you always look at each other the way you did in front of that camera," Grace says.

"Carrick, let's go start up the grill so we can have lunch. The girls and I have plans," she says and I see my father follow her outside.

Ana walks up to be and takes my hand. I turn my body towards hers and pull her into my arms.

"Come upstairs with me," she whispers. She takes my hand and leads up to my childhood bedroom. The minute the door closes, Ana pushes me against the door and attacks my mouth with hers.

"You are so incredibly sexy. The way you looked during that interview. God, the way you looked at me. Is that what the world sees when we're together? I just saw the love in your eyes," she says and kisses me again. I deepen the kiss and put my hands in her hair. Just like she's done since the very beginning, she jumps in my arms and wraps her legs around me. Her wrap around dress rose up and left her ass exposed. I stick my hands under her dress and feel her smooth ass. I make a mental note not to rip her thong off her body.

I walk her to the bed, but before I can lay her down, she jumps out of my arms and reaches for my belt and has my pants open and down in no time. She gets on her knees and takes my dick all the way to the back of her throat.

"Jesus, Ana." She grabs the base of my cock and starts to jack me off while she sucks. She does this several times, bringing me to the brink of orgasm. Right before I explode in her mouth, she lets my dick slip out of her mouth

"You taste so good, Christian," she says as she grabs the base of my cock again. I move out of her reach and pull her up.

"Get up. I want to feel your pussy," I say as I turn her around, bend her over, and lift the dress over her ass. As soon as I pull off her underwear, I stick my face in her pussy and lick her clit. My tongue is coated by her moisture, and I hear her whimper.

I realize that time is not on our side, so after a few licks, I stand up, slap her on both ass cheeks and enter her from behind.

"Yes, Christian. You feel so good."

I grab her hips and delve into her wet flesh over and over again. I'm once again close to orgasm. Thankfully she comes around my cock just seconds before I explode inside of her. She collapses on the bed, moving over to make room for me. I climb in next to her and hold her in my arms.

"What brought that on?" I ask.

"You. You are incredible and I just love you so much. Watching that interview, I realized how stupid I was acting when we first met. Kate was right. Who cares about our differences? I can't wait to marry you."

TWO WEEKS LATER:

Ana

I park the R8 in the GEH garage, and hop out before Sawyer can open the door for me. I see Prescott park the car she was following us in next to the R8. I roll my eyes and think back to the night after the interview aired and Christian wanted to hire a third CPO for me. Thankfully the result of the interview was mostly positive, but there were some mean articles about me and the expensive dress and shoes I wore. The worst are the social media pages where random pictures of me are posted and people comment on my fashion choices. Or the fan club of women that the interview got for my fiance. I was upset about them at first, but now I just don't care. People can think whatever the hell they want about me. There's nothing I can do about it. I can only live my life with Christian.

All in all, the interview was a good strategy. Immediately after it aired we were hounded by the press, but it died down pretty soon. Thankfully there was a political scandal involving the governor and most of the attention was given to them. I have a feeling that when the wedding date gets closer, the spotlight will come back on us.

Our wedding is two months away. We picked the third Sunday of September as our wedding date.

"Hi, baby," I say as I walk into Christian's office and close the door. He points to his phone, signaling that he's on a conference call. I walk to his where he's sitting and position myself on his lap.

"Hurry up," I whisper in his ear before I start to nibble on it. After sucking on his ear lobe, I start to nibble on his neck. Before long, the call ends and he gives me his full attention.

"What's gotten into you, soon to be Mrs. Grey?" He asks. Ever since we became engaged, he no longer calls me Ms. Steele. It's either Ana, Anastasia if he's irritated with me, or soon to be Mrs. Grey.

"I missed my fiancé," I say as I put my lips to his. He kisses me deeply while he cradles my head. I reach out and grab one of the beanie babies that's on his desk. The week after the interview, we went to Montesano where Ray and Carla threw us a little party. While we were there, I pulled out my beanie baby collection from the attic and gave Christian half. I thought he was just humouring me when he told me he loved them, but when I came to have lunch in his office on Monday, he had the bride and groom babies on his desk.

"I always miss you when you're not here. What's in that bag?" He asks while pointing to the brown paper bag in my hand.

"I got us some ice cream on the way back from meeting with the wedding planner." I say as I pull it out and open the oreo sundae that I have. I put some on a spoon and feed it to him.

"Mmmm, tastes almost as good as you," he says as he slowly eats the ice cream. I put a spoonful in my mouth and revel in the deliciousness.

"You'll never believe that I did today," I tell him. He looks at me and motions for me to feed him more of the dessert. I happily oblige. From the very beginning of planning for the wedding, Christian made it known that he would be responsible for the honeymoon, music, wine and would help in the food tasting, but I had carte blanche on everything else. He said we could just tell him what to wear, what time to show up and where to stand. After that, he got up and went to watch baseball with the other men. I was irritated at first because this was our wedding, but since I have the help of Kate, Grace, Carla, and Mia I was ok with it. Since then, I've also hired Megan Haskett, my very own wedding planner. I was never one of those girls who daydreamed about her wedding, but even when I had those fleeting thoughts of being a bride, I never imagined that I would an unlimited budget. It's a little overwhelming knowing that I can have whatever I want, regardless of how ridiculous a request it is.

"What did you do?" He asks.

"I totally blame Mia for this," I tell him while we continue to share the sundae.

"Should I be worried? Nah. My sweet fiancé would never do anything too crazy."

"I bought a second wedding dress," I say with a cringe. "I went for my fitting with your mom, Mia and Kate. Kate's mom had another dress there that was just so beautiful and Mia talked me into trying it on. Well it was just so beautiful that everyone convinced me to buy it for the reception. Now I have a dress for the ceremony and the reception. But the second dress has a flowy skirt and will be easier to dance in," I say by way of explanation.

"I'm proud of you, my little cheapskate," he says.

"And it was expensive, Christian. Plus, it will be extra for the alterations, but I just gave them my black Amex without a second thought," I tell him.

He leans in and gives me a kiss before taking the sundae container from my hand and starts to feed himself.

"That's why you have the card, Ana. Don't feel guilty about what you spend," he says. I notice that he doesn't give me any ice cream. I reach for the spoon, but he moves it out of my reach and continues to feed himself. When I make a face, he just puts a tiny bit on the spoon for me.

"I'm working on the guilt thing. I'm going to do more charity work along with your mom. I'm going to be on the Board of Coping Together. There are a few other charities that I'm considering as well. And I have another confession to make," I tell him as I try to take the spoon from him. He pulls it away but feeds me the last spoonful of ice cream.

I think of my confession and cover my face with my hands.

"Forget it. I'm not going to tell you after you ate most of the ice cream," I say as I try to get up from his lap. He holds me in place and kisses my ear, making me shiver.

"Uh uh. Tell me. And I make no apologies for eating all the ice cream. You should have gotten a bigger one," he says kissing my ear again. "Now, I want to hear that confession."

"Oh, god this is going to be a difficult confession," I say as I bury my head in his chest. "I like shopping with no budget," I say as quickly as possible.

He pulls my face away from his chest, and forces me to look at him.

"Say that one more time, baby. I know I could not possibly have heard that right," he jokes as he shakes out his ear.

"I said I like shopping with no budget. Are you happy now! I just spent twenty thousand dollars on a second wedding dress, which is more expensive than my ceremony dress. Do you hear me, Christian? I have two wedding dresses that cost more than most people make in one year. I feel so guilty," I confess as I try to hide my face in his chest again.

He grabs my face and forces me to look at him.

"Now I know I couldn't have possibly heard that right. Did I just hear my little cheapskate say she enjoys spending money? Aren't you the same woman who has fought and argued with me at every turn regarding money?" He asks.

"Oh, hush! I still feel guilty about it, Christian."

"Well stop it. We both work hard and you can give as much as you want to any charity. You can start your own charity if you want. But we are only getting married only once and I want you to have whatever you want," he says.

"I know. I was never the type of girl to dream of a perfect wedding, but I can't wait to walk down the aisle to you. I guess I never thought I'd fall in love. Do you know how much I love you? How crazy I am about you? How I can't wait until our wedding day?" I ask him. I can't help myself as I throw my arms around his neck and put my mouth on his. The kiss turns passionate and I feel his desire underneath me.

"I know exactly how you feel because I can't wait to make you my wife. You are going to look so beautiful in your two wedding dresses," he says to me.

"You are so lucky to have me. I'm going to look so hot," I tease and he laughs. God, I love when I make this man laugh.

"You are going to be the most beautiful, most sexy bride in the history of the world. I can't wait," he says. This time the kiss turns so passionate that I loosen his tie and start to unbutton his shirt. I completely lose myself in him until the door opens and Ros walks in, carrying Henry. Carrick follows soon behind her. I blush at being caught on Christian's lap again. I'm wearing a short denim skirt and his hand is gently stroking my thigh. I make to get off his lap but he holds me still.

"Oh, no. Not again. I'm going to take your advice and start knocking," Ros says as she puts Henry down. He just started to walk, and he waddles over to me and puts his hand on my bare leg. Christian's eyebrows shoot up.

"Hands off my woman, Henry," he says as he scoops Henry up in his arms. I use that opportunity to get up. I go over and kiss Carrick on the cheek and hug Ros. As far as Carrick goes, everything between us is as it was before that prenup disaster, but I still feel awkward around him. For the sake of my fiance who I love more than anything, and who has bent over backwards for me to feel comfortable in his world, I pretend everything is fine.

"This is a surprise," I say to Carrick, putting on my best smile.

"I'm just here to help Ros with a personal issue and thought I'd come by and see my son. How was the dress shopping with the ladies?" He asks.

"It was great. We can take Grace and Carla off the list," I say.

"So, I heard. Grace called and gushed about it as soon as she left the shop."

I look over and see Christian playing with Henry. I can't help but laugh at him holding Henry as up as if he's an airplane and spinning him around. Henry loves it and lets out a loud laugh.

"Well, I have to go. I have another appointment and then we have our date night tonight," I say to the room. Christian hands Henry back to Ros.

"We'll give you some privacy," Carrick says. "We'll wait outside the office."

Christian sits on the couch and I take my place on his lap.

"What appointment?" He asks.

"I have a session with the personal trainer. Mia says I need to improve on my ass for the first dress," I say and he rolls his eyes.

"Mia is an idiot, and your ass is perfect. You're perfect. You don't need to lose any weight, baby."

"I know. I'm just trying to tone so I can look good for you," I say as I give him a kiss.

"You are the most beautiful woman on earth. You always look good. Don't you change a thing." God, how I love this man.

"God, you're the sweetest. How did I ever live without you?"

"I have no clue. Thank goodness you met me when you did," he teases.

Christian

"How's your ass feeling?" I ask Ana as I drive us to our date night location. She chuckles at me.

"It feels firmer already," she says. "Are we going to the new house tonight," she asks as she looks around the familiar area. It's a beautiful night in the middle of July and I made arrangements for us to have dinner on the patio of the new house. Elliot has already started working on the repairs, but the outside is perfectly manicured.

"Always so curious, soon to be Mrs. Grey," I say as I park in the driveway and go to open her door for her. She comes out, wearing a black v-neck banded dress that reaches just above her knees. Her only accessory is her diamond engagement ring.

"You're looking incredibly beautiful tonight," I say as I kiss her neck. I hear her giggle.

"And you're looking dashingly handsome as always," she says shyly.

I lead her to the patio where a table is set for two. We are served a glass of Domaine Ramonet Montrachet.

"You manage to surpass every date night time and time again. I want to plan the next one for us," she says.

"Nope. Date night is my thing, and you're sitting too far away." She comes around the table and takes her place on my lap.

"Do you think it will be like this even after we're married?" She asks.

"I promise you that it will."

"What are you looking forward to the most?" I'm going to use this as my opportunity to bring up the issue that's been on my mind.

"Everything. You officially being mine and knowing that we made a pledge before God and family to spend our lives together does things to me, soon to be Mrs. Grey. But, what I'm looking forward to the most is something we've never talked about," I tell her.

"And what would that be?"

"Us starting a family," I say just as she takes a sip of her wine.

As soon as I say those words, Ana's eyes widen and she starts to cough uncontrollably.

 **I hope you enjoyed chapter 20! For some reason, I had a really tough time writing this chapter. I'm not a reporter or a journalist, but I hope you liked the little interview that they gave. I** **can't believe this story has grown so much. Next up is the rest of the talk about kids, and some more fun. Thank you for all of the reviews, follows and favorites.**


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

All credit to ELJ

ANA

Christian pats my back and I finally get my coughing under control. This is the second time he's mentioned having kids. Well, the third time. He mentioned it when he proposed, but we've never had the conversation about children.

"Kids?" I ask between coughs.

"Yes, kids. I want a family with you," he turns and looks back at the house. "I think we have the room," he jokes.

"Look, Ana, I know I've never mentioned it before, but I want to talk about it."

"Not true, Mr. Grey. The night you begged me to marry you, you said you wanted to have kids with me. I remember every word of that proposal. Best moment of my life," she says.

"Begged? I beg to differ, soon to be Mrs. Grey. I only would have begged if you had said no, but you didn't even let me finish my proposal before you screamed out yes," I remind her.

"That's not how I remember it, but yes. I want to have little ginger babies who look just like their daddy. In fact, I have this vision of a little boy with red hair and gray eyes who answers to the name CJ," I tell him as I place my hands on his chest.

"CJ?"

"CJ for Christian Junior. He's going to be a mini you, right down to the designer suits you'll probably make him wear to pre-school," I tell him.

"I like the sound of that, soon to be Mrs. Grey," he says against my lips. He pulls me closer and I wrap my arms around his waist. "I'll get in touch with Prada. Why wait until pre-school. He'll need an outfit to wear home from the hospital. I'll send the staff away and I can knock you up real quick. No time like the present."

"As romantic as that sounds, I'm not quite ready to be a mother. I'm selfish and want some time with just my husband for a while. I want spontaneous trips, lazy weekends in bed, making love in front of the fireplace just because."

"How long is a while? We have this huge house to fill," I remind her. "Remember Ray is in desperate need of a fishing buddy." At that I roll my eyes.

"Carla is Ray's fishing buddy. You have already made plans for a fishing weekend with the guys, so Ray has plenty of fishing buddies. I want my husband all to myself first before I share him with our children," I say, willing him to understand.

"How long? I need a timeframe."

"What's the rush, Christian? We're both young and have plenty of time," I tell him.

"You once called me a control freak. I just want to plan." Bullshit. He wants to lock me into an exact date.

"Fine. Three years. I want three years of just Ana and Christian before we start a family."

"No. That's two long. I can give you three months." So, he wants to negotiate.

"This is not one of your business deals, Christian. I don't want to negotiate when we start a family. Don't you want some time with just me? Think about it. You can come home and ravage me whenever you want. We can't do that with a baby. And I don't want nannies raising our kids. I want us to do it together."

"Fine. Six months."

"Ugh! You're still negotiating!" Fine. I'll meet him on his level.

"Yes, and I've already bid against myself. Your move."

"2 years and six months."

"7 months."

"I'm not doing this. You're being unreasonable. I don't want to negotiate a child. What's gotten into you? What's this really about?" I ask him. He turns away from me and goes and leans against one of the pillars.

"Why are you so reluctant to have a family with me?" What the hell has gotten into this man?

"Reluctant? I have the name already picked out for our first son. What part of that says reluctance to you? I want it all with you. We're planning our wedding for god's sakes," I say totally exasperated. I look at him and I know there is something else.

"What's going on, Christian? Talk to me."

"I don't want you to leave me, Ana. Ever."

"Why would I leave you? I love you. My entire world is you."

He takes my hand and we walk back to the table. He takes a seat and gestures for me to get on his lap.

"My life was so empty before you, Ana. It was filled with nothing but work and a bunch of women who meant nothing to me, and some family obligations. That was it. Then one Friday night I met a beautiful girl at a party and everything changed. You became everything to me right at that moment, and then to have you love me back is just everything. I don't want to lose you," he says. I look in his eyes and he looks like a scared little by, not the domineering, bossy alpha male that I've come to know and love. Does he want to have a baby so that he can hold on to me?

"Look at me, Christian. You are the love of my life, my entire world. My life begins and ends with you. You have me and I'm not going anywhere, ok? We don't need a baby so you can have a grasp on me. I'm with you willingly and because I would die if we weren't together. You're my everything. And I do want to have your children, and soon, I just want to have you to myself for a while first."

"Three years isn't soon, Ana."

"Forget the three years. Let's have children when we're both ready."

"I'm ready now."

"I realize that but you just sprung this on me. Don't you want a honeymoon period? I do. I you to come home after a long day and just rip my clothes off and have your way with me for hours. I want us to just spontaneously take off for a long weekend. I just want to be with my husband. Don't you want to be with me? What is this really all about?" I try to get him to look at me but he looks away.

"Talk to me, baby."

"I'm afraid, Ana."

"Of what, Christian.

"I'm afraid that one day you'll wake up and realize you made a mistake, and the life I can provide for you is not the life you want, and you'll leave."

"That's never going to happen, but how is a baby going to stop that?"

"If we have a child, you can't just take off. You'll have to at least try to work things out with me," he says.

"Oh, Christian," I say to him as I rest my forehead on his. He puts his arms around my waist and pulls me closer.

"First of all, our life is all I want. Nothing will ever make me want to leave what we have. I am absolutely crazy about you," I say to him. I grab his face and force him to look me in the eyes.

"You are my life, baby. There is nothing I want more than to walk down to aisle to you on my father's arm, and recite my vows to you. It's going to be you and me until death do us part. And as far as having your kids go, I can't wait for that. You are never sexier to me than when you come into the daycare and play with the kids. And that time you played with Henry in your office, I swear I wanted to rip your clothes off and have you right then and there. I want it all. I want to marry you, fuck you on every surface in this new house, carry your children, grow old with you. I want everything. I'm not going anywhere," I say to him, imploring him to believe me.

"That's all I've ever wanted, Ana."

"And I know the man I'm going to marry. No way in hell you'd let me go. You love me too much," I say trying to tease him out of his mood. His hold tightens around me and he puts his face in my neck.

"You got that right. I'll lock you in a room and beg until you take me back. I'll never let you go," he whispers against my neck. He lifts his head and kisses me deeply, pouring all of his feelings in that kiss. I do the same, and kiss him with everything in me. I hold the back of his head and pour all of my love in that kiss. Just as I feel him start to harden underneath me, he breaks the kiss.

"I love you so much, Ana. I just want to make you as happy as you make me. And having you to myself for a while does sound appealing. It's going to take us at least one year to fuck on every surface of this house," and he's back.

"Yes. How about we table the baby talk for one year. We'll revisit it on our first anniversary."

"Deal," he says while nibbling on my neck. Just then the staff brings out our appetizers, followed by our main course of sea bass.

Once we've had our dinner, we feed each other delicious crème brulee for dessert.

"I'm so full, Mr. Grey," I say to him as he puts another spoonful of dessert in my mouth. "I think it's time you take me home and fill me up with something else."

"I like the sound of that, soon to be Mrs. Grey. What exactly shall I fill you up with?" He asks seductively. I shift on his lap and feel his hardness underneath me. I take my hand and stick it down his pants, holding his hard cock in my hand.

"I was thinking," I begin.

"Hello, lovebirds," I hear Elliot yell just as he walks out in the patio, with Kate following behind him. I'm mortified and quickly pull my hands out of Christian's pants.

"Banana, I'm going to pretend that I didn't see you just pull your hands out of my little brother's pants." I'm going to die. The ground is going to open up and swallow me whole.

"I don't need those nightmares, Elliot," Kate says.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Christian asks, none too pleased with the interruption.

"Just so you know, I just took my wife out to dinner and wanted to check something out in the house. You two should be happy I'm so dedicated to my work," he says as he takes a seat across from us and puts Kate on his lap. His hand automatically goes to her protruding stomach. I notice that Christian's eyes are on Kate's stomach as well.

"We didn't invite you two to sit," Christian says, but I hear a hit of laughter in his voice.

"Since when do we need an invitation? You got anymore dessert? I'm pretty sure Kate wants some," Elliot says and Kate playfully punches him. Two minutes later, more crème brulee is brought to the table for our uninvited guests. Kate dives right into her dessert, and Elliot even feeds her some of his. The entire time, he has one hand on her stomach and I notice that Christian is looking intently at Kate's stomach.

"I don't appreciate you two crashing our date night," Christian says as he rubs circles on my back. I discretely grind against his crotch, feeling his dick underneath me.

"You shouldn't have told me you'd be here then. You're lucky I didn't invite our parents."

"Steele, this house is insane," Kate begins. We spend the next few minutes talking about the house and plans for the bachelor/bachelorette parties. We originally wanted to go to New York, but with Kate being almost 7 months pregnant by the time the parties arrive, it's best if we stay closer to home. Kate's pregnancy is fine, but her blood pressure has been a little high so It's best to stay close to home. Of course, that means clubbing for the women is out of the question. Kate says she doesn't care if we go without her, but I want my BFF there with me every step of the way.

"If we go to Las Vegas, we can do the spa thing while he guys play golf, gamble and catch a show. What do you think?" I suggest.

"I think you're absolutely brilliant," Christian says and kisses my temple. Elliot rolls his eyes at us, but I beam at my fiance's compliment.

"I'm in," Elliot says. "Katie and I will do all the planning. All you two have to do is show up."

"Nothing on the weekend of September 10th. I have plans for Ana's birthday," Christian says.

Everyone but Kate drinks to that. We chat for a bit longer, but I can feel my fiance shifting underneath me. He's rock hard and my panties are drenched.

"We should do this again next Friday night," Elliot suggests.

"Nope. We spend enough time with you two. It's time for us to leave," Christian says as he gets up. I stand up and go hug Kate and Elliot goodbye.

"I'll find out where you're going to be next Friday and we're going to crash your date again! Save yourself some trouble and get a table for four!" Elliot yells to our retreating back. These Greys have no fucking boundaries, but I can't wait until I'm one of them.

CHRISTIAN

About 1 month before the wedding

Thank fucking Christ we can get off this damn golf course. We all flew into Las Vegas last night for our separate bachelor/bachelorette parties. Today, all the ladies are having brunch, followed by an afternoon at the spa, a show and dinner. Dad and Elliot wanted to do a round of golf, but unfortunately they picked one of the hottest days of the damn year. I have sweat dripping down my back and my balls.

Carrick was so happy to be going golfing, but my trainer, Claude Bastille, is the better golfer. Since Ana started training with Claude's wife, Claudia, they have become friends and she insisted on inviting them this weekend, along with Heather from work. Now Carrick is making plans with him to golf again back in Seattle so he can have a re-match. Ray was totally out of his element on the golf course and suggested we find a shooting range this weekend. Little does he know that my mom would kill all of us if she were to find out. Thankfully, our weekend is jam packed so there will be no time for that! He also took this opportunity to invite back to Montesano sometime this fall to use that gift card for the shooting range he gave me for my birthday. How the hell am I going to get out of this one?

Our entourage consists of Elliot, Ray, Carrick, Ethan, Claude, Taylor and Sawyer. Gail counldn't join the girls because she already had plans with her sister this weekend. We hired a few temporary guards along with Reynolds and Ryan, who are with the women.

"Let's get out of this damn heat and get a drink," I say to Elliot as we walk back to the club house. We go to our private room and wait for our drink orders and food. I wonder how Ana is doing.

"Can I have my phone, Elliot?"

"Nope. Let Ana have a few hours without you breathing down her neck. This is one of the last weekends you're going to have as a single man," the jerk says to me. He snatched my phone from me and told me Kate also took Ana's.

Before I can strangle him, the drinks arrive.

"Can I have your attention, please?" Carrick starts. Oh, lord. I just want to talk to my girl!

"Let me be the first to say that I am so excited to be here celebrating my other favorite son's upcoming wedding. I admit, I never saw this day coming, but Grace and I are so happy that you found Ana. Lord knows your mother has spent many sleepless nights worrying about you, but from the moment that you brought Ana home for Sunday dinner, her days of worry were over. We knew from that day, that we would soon be here. Congrats, son," dad says. Now I feel like an ass for being annoyed. I get up and give him a hug and he pats me on the back.

"I love you, son," he says so that only I can hear. I nod.

"Love you too, old man."

I hear someone clear their throat and see Ray stand up.

"I'd like to say a few words, if you don't mind. When Annie first told me about you two dating, I admit I was uncertain about the whole thing. My Annie was young, only out of college less than a year. We lived a pretty sheltered life in Montesano, and I was worried about her getting involved with a city slicker." A what? What the fuck is he carrying on about?

"But when I first met you, I liked you instantly. I knew you were terrified of me, and that endeared you to me even more. It told me that you wanted to make a good impression for the sake of my daughter. I know a man like you doesn't normally give two shits what people think of you, but because you cared about what I thought told me all I needed to know. I'd like to take a moment to welcome you and the rest of the Greys into the Steele family. I guess I was wrong about your kind," he says jokingly at the end. Your daughter is my kind now, fucker. I walk over and hug him. Thankfully there is no tension between him and my father after that horrible prenup fiasco. It's amazing how quickly we can put all our differences aside for the sake of one tiny, little woman with brown hair and freckles. Damn, I need to talk to her.

"I'd give a speech, but I'm saving it for the wedding," Elliot says. He better not embarrass me at my own fucking wedding.

Our steaks soon arrive and Ray pulls out a box of cigars he had with him. I don't normally smoke, but I can't refuse him. Poor Ethan practically chokes to death after his first drag. I see Ray roll his eyes at him as he pats his back.

"Ethan, you need to come spend a few weekends with me in Montesano without that girlfriend of yours. I need to make a man out of you, boy," Ray says and we all laugh. Ethan turns red with embarrassment but he laughs too.

"Hey. Kate told me that at her shower, the ladies all gave her a piece of advice. Let's do that for Christian." What the fuck kind of advice is Elliot going to give? Don't knock up your girlfriend before you propose? I've already mastered that, asshole.

"Remember my father in law is sitting right here, asshole," I warn him.

"He's not our father in law yet, _asshole._ He can still convince Ana to dump your ass."

"Annie can't be convinced to do anything she doesn't want to do. I'm sure your brother knows that." That's for` sure. Stubborn woman!

"Well I've been married for almost four months now so that makes me an expert on the whole marriage thing. There are two rules. One, your wife is always right. Two, when you know she's wrong, keep that shit to yourself and pretend she's right. Oh, and always have food around." Idiot. He's a complete moron, but we all laugh.

The waiter comes in and I order rounds of bourbon for everybody.

"We're going to make a man out of Ethan yet," I whisper to Ray and he winks at me.

We all take a shot as soon as it's brought out. Ethan only coughs once. I order another round.

"I've been married for 7 years now so I might not have the same level of expertise as Elliot, but I think I know a few things. It's important to have similar interests, but it's also ok if not all of your interests align. Always listen to what your wife has to say, and always, always make her feel like she's the most important person in your life. Women are way more complicated than men, but you'll have a happy wife and a happy life if you show her with your words and deeds how much you love her." Well Claude is way more eloquent than that idiot, Elliot.

Our next round comes out and we all take a shot.

"Don't sip it, Ethan. It's not tea for god's sakes. It's bourbon!" Ray says. Ethan finally takes the shot. No cough this time.

"I only have one thing to say, Christian. Continue to make my daughter happy and you and I will never have a problem. I don't know what you're doing, but whatever it is, it's working. I've never seen her so happy," Ray says.

"I bet I know what he's doing," Elliot says with a wiggle of the eyebrows. Ray harrumphs and I take an ice cube out of my water and throw it at Elliot.

We all take another shot.

Dad stands up and stumbles a bit. Mom is going to kill him.

"You've been given some good advice here, son. Nothing more I can add except this. Sex solves lots of problems. Even headaches. You've never heard of your mother complaining of a headache, have you? And just be honored that she agreed to spend the rest of her life with you. You found yourself a good one."

"Dad, you're not allowed to give out anymore advice. We don't need to hear that. I'm going to have to wash my ears out with bleach," Elliot says. "Where's the waiter? I need another drink."

"I'm single so I'm hardly in any place to give advice," Sawyer says.

"I do whatever Gail tells me," is all that Taylor offers. I've seen Taylor knock out another man with just one punch, and yet here he sits telling us he says how high whenever Gail tells him to jump. I guess you just never know. It's always the quiet ones. I bet Taylor would make a good submissive. I shudder at the thought.

"Seriously? You take orders from Gail?" I ask.

"You're obviously never seen Gail upset."

After our late lunch, we head back to the hotel to shower and change before we do some gambling. We rented out a floor at the MGM Grand, but the presidential suite belongs to me and Ana. Unfortunately, the girls are at the damn spa when we get back to the hotel and I don't get to see my Ana. I grab the hotel phone and dial her cell, expecting it to go to voicemail. To my surprise, Kate answers and she passes Ana the phone.

"Baby," I say when I hear her sweet voice. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, but Kate has been holding my phone hostage. How has your day been so far? I'm horny," she whispers.

"Ana, baby, have you been drinking?"

"Mmmmhmmm. They just keep on bringing the drinks, but there's only one thing I want to drink. It's thick and creamy." I'm instantly hard.

"I think I know exactly what you need. I'm going to fill you with so much creamy stuff tonight, you might need a life jacket," I say seductively.

"Ugh, that's gross, dude," Kate says. She must have taken the phone from Ana. "Take a cold shower," she says before hanging up on me. Rude much?

I shower and change quickly before we meet in Elliot's suite. We have more drinks and go in search of a poker game. This time, Ray is in his element. He has Ethan sit next to him so he can teach him how to play like a man, whatever that means. He catches me looking at him and he nods to the other seat next to him.

"Lord knows your poker game needs some help," he says to me. We spend the next few hours playing poker and black jack and drinking. After several hours of being in the casino, we go to the mob museum, followed by the Gene Woods racing experience. That's probably not the best idea considering how drunk we all were. Elliot kept trying to crash into everybody. Ethan was his primary target.

"Let's go, lads. We have dinner plans," Elliot announces once we're done with the race track. We arrive at Twist and taken to a private room.

I hear my name being called right before Ana jumps into my arms. She wraps her legs around me and attacks my mouth with hers. I can taste the tequila on her tongue.

"I've missed you so much," she says against my mouth.

"I've missed you too, baby," I say not caring that we're making out like a couple of teenagers in front of everyone.

"This is my favorite place."

"Las Vegas?" She rolls her eyes at me.

"Your arms, silly." This time I'm the one who attacks her mouth.

"Get a room," someone yells. I think that someone is my mom. I set Ana down and look at all the women. Everyone, except Kate, appears to be drunk.

"Did you ladies have a good time?" Ray asks.

"Oh, yes! Kate did a wonderful job planning it. We've been drinking champagne all day. And the good stuff, Ray. Not that cheap stuff I get from Target. " Carla says as she hiccups.

"Only the best for my BFF," Kate announces.

Kate has decided on the seven course tasting menu, paired with seven different types of wine. By the end of this meal, I'm pretty sure we're going to have to carry the girls and Ethan out. I sit next to Ana and hold her hand under the table. She removes her hand from mine and starts to slowly rub circles on my thigh. I lean down and kiss the top of her head. Her hand moves up and It lands on my crotch and she starts to slowly massage me over my pants.

"You're killing me, baby. My lap misses you. You're sitting too far away," I say as I lift her hand and place it back on my thigh. I feed her a bit of the food from my plate. She eats it slowly and then takes a giant sip of her wine.

"Easy," I warn. She responds by taking another giant sip.

"So, where are you two going on your honeymoon? Carrick and I went to Hawaii and had the best time," Grace begins and goes into a long speech about all of the fun things they did while in Hawaii a million years ago.

"It's a surprise, but it's not Hawaii. Hawaii is just so typical," Christian says.

"That's where Elliot and I went," Kate says. My point exactly.

The dinner continues and everyone gives little anecdotes about their honeymoon. Even Ray talks about taking Carla to Los Angeles for their honeymoon.

"What's your favorite memory, Carla?" Grace asks.

"Which honeymoon? I've had three," Carla says as she finishes her fourth glass of wine.

"Mother! I think you've had enough."

"Relax, Anastasia. It's all in fun. It's not like I'm the first person in history to be married more than once."

To her credit, Grace tries to change the subject and asked about the last minute things they have to do for the wedding.

"Ana, did you pick up those cufflinks you ordered for Christian?"

Ana loudly drops her fork in her plate.

"That was a surprise, mother! Can you just stop talking now?"

"It's not like that's the only thing you got him. I didn't tell him about the,"

"Ok, Carla. Hush. That's enough. Annie, why did you let her drink so much? You know she can't handle much alcohol?"

"She's a grown woman, dad. And we were supposed to be having fun," my girl huffs right before she downs another glass of wine. I need to keep my eye on her so I feed her some more.

"You two are so adorable. Aren't they cute, Ray?" Carla slurs.

"Drink some damn water, Carla."

"Well, I'd like to say something," Carrick begins.

"Oh, yes, dad. Please bring up the prenup again," Elliot yells out. The room falls into an awkward silence falls in the room, and I'm ready to punch Elliot.

Ana covers her face with her hands.

"Kate, how did you end up with this idiot?" Ana asks.

"He knocked me up," Kate says with a shrug as she continues on with her food.

"Grace, talk some sense into your son before I strangle him in a room full of witnesses!" Dad yells, turning red with embarrassment. Before my mom can turn her wrath on Elliot, Ethan jumps out of his seat and runs of the private dining room with his hand covering his mouth.

"He told me how you guys kept shoving bourbon down his throat," Mia says before she runs after her boyfriend.

"We'll make a man out of him yet. Right, Ray?" Elliot says. Kate gives all of us guys the death glare.

"Hush up, you trouble maker," Ray says and the entire room starts to laugh, including Ana.

Elliot and I go check on Ethan in the men's room and help carry him up to his room before we come back and finish dinner. We spend the rest of the night laughing and making more wedding plans.

"I can only imagine what our first blended Thanksgiving is going to be like," Ana whispers to me. I kiss her nose and wonder the same thing.

THE NEXT MORNING

"I'm never drinking again," I hear my fiance whisper. I get up and give her the advil and water that I had waiting for her. After our dinner, I had to carry my drunk and tired fiance to our suite, where I put her to bed. Thankfully, she's made of sturdier stuff than Ethan Kavanaugh and didn't throw up. I spent the first part of the night watching her, making sure she wasn't going to get sick.

"Thank you, baby. You always know just what I need," she says before she takes two advil.

"It's my job to take care of you now," I say as I kiss her cheek. "I ordered room service. It should be here soon. You'll feel better after you eat." She sits up in the king size bed and I sit next to her. I take her legs and put then across my lap before I start to massage her feet. She moans in pleasure.

"What are you and the guys doing before we leave?" The plane leaves at 3. I know Grace and Carla have a little shower planned for Ana in my parent's suite.

"I'm not sure. I'll see what Elliot has planned. Are you excited about your shower?"

"I am. Not that we need anything, but I'm looking forward to it. A girl only gets married once. Unless you're Carla Wilks Lambert Steele Morton Wilks," she says with a playful shrug. I can't help but laugh.

"Well my girl will only get married once, but we can renew our vows every year if you wish," before I can kiss her, the food has arrived. We're served breakfast, and a few hours later I go to meet the guys. Elliot wanted to do the rides at the top of the Stratosphere Tower but Carrick and Ray objected. We also took one look at Ethan and decided to change plans. Since we got a private pool, we decided to just spend our time swimming and eating lunch by the pool.

By the time we all board the jet, everyone is tired, but the women are laughing and carrying on about the gifts at the shower. Ana got tee shirts made up for all the girls, but I love that hers says soon to be Mrs. Grey.

"It was a naughty shower," Ana whispers to me. "You should see what I got. And your mom's not as demure ash she pretends. She's one raunchy lady when your dad's not around. You should see what she got me. Do you know that your mother and father like to..."

"Ana, please stop talking right now. Whatever it is, I don't want to know. I don't need or want that shit in my head."

"Well let's just say that those flowers you sent were the only pure things in that suite."

Thankfully Kate comes and sits across from us.

"Steele, did you tell Christian about the jewelry Grace gave you?"

Ana tells me about the pearl earrings, bracelet and necklace that my mom gave her. It was a gift from my grandmother and my mother wore it for her wedding ceremony. I look at mom, touched that she would do this. I guess the diamond earrings I got for my bride will have to wait for another day.

"I'm going to wear the set she gave me for my wedding with my maid of honor dress," she says and the girls start chatting about more wedding details.

ANA'S BIRTHDAY

ANA

"Are you ready for your day, baby? I really wanted to take you to New York for your birthday but our moms threatened my life if we went out of town this close to the wedding." Our wedding which is just ten days away. It's a beautiful and warm September day and I can't wait to celebrate with my fiance. Since we're spending the day on The Grace, I have on a simple romper, a pair of espadrilles and a bikini underneath.

Chiristian is dressed simply in a pair of khaki shorts and a polo shirt.

"I'm thrilled. It's my first birthday with you. And I've never had a party on a yacht before. I can't wait." I take his hand as we get on the elevator to go to the garage.

"Your first surprise is this way, soon to be Mrs. Grey," he says as he leads me out of the elevator. I see it right away. Right next to his black Audi R8 is a white R8 with a red bow on the windshield! I'm speechless for a full minute before I jump in his arms and kiss him right there in the garage with Taylor and Sawyer watching.

"Can I drive to the marina?"

"It's your car and it's your birthday," he says as he hands me the keys.

We arrive at the marina at the same time as the rest of the Greys. Elliot goes crazy over my new car and demands that Christian buy him a red one for his birthday next month. We all roll our eyes at him.

Soon my parents and the rest of the guests arrive, and we spend the day swimming, laughing, drinking exotic cocktails prepared by the two bartenders on board, eating steak, shrimp, lobster and anything else the caterer has on the yacht. Our guests include the same group from the shower, but this time I invited Gail, Ros, Gwen and Kate's parents. Once the sun went down, the music was turned up and we spent the night dancing. Best birthday ever.

"I can't wait to get you home," Christian says as he opens my car door for me. He insisted on driving us home since I was so exhausted. When I step out of the car, he picks me up bridal style and carries me until we reach the bedroom. He sets me down and runs us a bath, where he massages my shoulders and feet.

"Do you know how beautiful you are? How lucky I am to have found you?" He asks.

"I don't know about the beautiful part, but you're very lucky to have found me," I joke. He pulls my back to his chest and kisses the side of my neck.

"You joke, but you are the most beautiful woman in the world and I'm so lucky to be marrying you." I turn to face him and grab his face, imploring him to look at me.

"I'm the lucky one, baby. You are the most amazing man, and you had to put up with all of my issues and insecurities. I'm so glad you never gave up on me," I say before our lips lock.

"I'd never give up. I'd still be fighting for you now," he says.

"Lucky for you I was so easy, huh?" We both laugh at that.

"Let's get out of this tub. I have one more surprise for you."

After we dry off, Christian leaves me standing stark naked in front of the long mirror in the bathroom. He returns with a bag bearing the Tiffany's logo.

He opens it and drapes a cobblestone diamond necklace across my neck, followed by matching diamond earrings. I stand there speechless.

"I want to make love to my fiance on her birthday while she's wearing nothing but the diamonds I bought her. I love you so much, baby."

"Not as much as I love you," I say as the tears pool in my eyes. We don't spend any more time talking. I take his hand and lead him to our bed where we spend the next few hours exploring each other's bodies.

THE WEDDING DAY

CHRISTIAN

"Look at my handsome little brother," Elliot says as he straightens my tie. For once in his life, he's not acting like an infant. "You picked a good one, bro. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, man."

We are lucky to have a perfect early fall day for our wedding. The temperature is in the seventies, and the sky is clear. Ana was so nervous all week because it rained every single day until today. I joked that the weather is the only thing our money couldn't buy.

I'm standing in my old bedroom and I look out into the back yard. I haven't seen Ana since the rehearsal dinner last night. All of the women stayed here, and the guys spent the night at Elliot's.

Ana and the wedding planner did a spectacular job. There's a huge tent for where the reception will be held. There's a huge arch decorated with off white roses where I'm to stand and wait for my bride. There's a long white carpet with rose petals along both sides. There are huge pillars topped with a floral bouquet at the end of each row of seating. My baby did not spare on the flowers.

Ana chose plum with silver accents for our wedding colors. There are thousands upon thousands of silver lights for later on in the evening. I look at my wedding present from my bride, platinum cufflinks with our wedding date and the letters A and C intertwined, and I smile. Always so sentimental.

I hear a knock on the door and Carla walks in.

"You look so handsome, Christian. I'm so happy for you and Ana," she says and wipes away a few tears. "I can tell how much you love her. Here," she says as she hands me an envelope. "Ana wanted me to give you this." She kisses my cheek and leaves. I quickly open the letter.

 _My dearest Christian,_

 _I could tell you how much I love you, but you already know. I could tell you how happy you make me, but I hope that the permanent smile that I've had on my face since the day we met is clue enough. I could tell you how I think we are perfect for each other, but the fact that we are going to be married in less than an hour should be proof of how perfect I think we are together. What I want to tell you is_ _this. For the rest of my life, I plan to be by your side, loving you, honoring you, fighting with and for you. For as long as there is breath in my body, you will have someone who is always there for you, who is always on your side. I want to be your refuge, your comfort, your lover, your partner and your best friend. From_ _this day forward, you will never know what it's like to be alone. I'll see you soon. I'll be the one dressed in white._

 _Your soon to be Mrs. Grey._

I wipe the tears from my eyes just as Elliot, dad and Ray walk in.

"It's time, son," Ray says. We all walk out of my childhood bedroom and before I know it, I'm standing at the alter with Elliot by my side.

The music starts to play and I see dad walking mom down the aisle, followed by Carla. Next is Mia, wearing a long chiffon dress in plum. Kate is next in a similar dress, but a version that makes room for her growing belly. I look over at Elliot and he tears up at seeing his wife. She winks at him and he winks back.

The song changes to the wedding march and I feel my heart stop when I see the most beautiful bride I've ever seen walk down the aisle to me on her father's arm. She's dressed all in white in a fitted wedding dress with a high neck line. I dress has small train, but with Ana's small frame, it's perfect for her. She decided against a veil, but she has her hair down with loose curls.

I didn't even realize I was crying until Elliot handed me his handkerchief. I quickly wipe my eyes and focus on my bride. Our eyes lock and she mouths I love you, and I tear up again. Just like the day we met, my tongue got stuck to the roof of my mouth and I was without speech. My vision blurs again but she arrives before I can wipe my tears. She places her hands in mine, and Ray kisses her cheek before he takes his seat.

Elliot takes out his handkerchief and wipes my eyes, and forehead, causing laughter from our guests. I look away from Ana for a minute and look at our guests. Grace and Carla are sitting next to each other crying, as are Mia and Kate. Even Ray's eyes are looking suspiciously moist.

I finally get my act together and mouth I love you to Ana. As soon as I do that, her eyes fill with tears.

Reverend Walsh clears his throat and begins.

"Dearly, beloved..."

 **This is it! Epilogue is up next. I won't go too far into the future because I'd like to check in with these two from time to time. I want to tell you how much fun I've had writing this story. Your response has been amazing and have encouraged me to keep writing when I wanted to give up. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read and review this story. You guys are amazing!**


	22. Chapter 22

**EPILOGUE**

 **All credit to ELJ**

 **2.5 YEARS LATER**

 **ANA**

I hold back a laugh as I watch our two year old niece, Ava, attempt to brush my husband's hair. Instead of giving it any semblance of order, she's making it even messier than usual.

"Unco Chrithy look peety," she says and grins. Just then she sees me, drops the brush on the floor and runs to me so that I can pick her up.

"Don't you dare, Mrs. Grey," Christian says as he runs towards us and picks up Ava. He blows raspberries on her belly and she squeals in delight.

I roll my eyes at him. He hasn't let me lift a finger ever since we found out that I'm pregnant. It was a hard road getting to this point of being five months pregnant. After about six months of marriage, Christian came to me and told me he wanted to start for a family right away. I reminded him that we agreed to wait for a year, and we got into a huge argument that night. It was the first big fight of our marriage.

FLASHBACK – SIX MONTHS AFTER THE WEDDING

 _"_ _We agreed to not discuss it again until our first anniversary. I'm still not ready!" I yell at him. It was like talking to a brick wall sometimes._

 _"_ _What difference does six fucking months make, Ana? You want kids. I want kids. Let's have a fucking kid! It's not like we have to save up for diapers," he yelled back while running a hand through his hair._

 _"_ _Don't you fucking yell at me! We already talked about this! Why are you bringing this up now?"_

 _"_ _It's just that Elliot and Kate have Ava and," I stop him right there._

 _"_ _That's their life, not ours! I'm not going to be pressured into having a kid because your brother has one!"_

 _"_ _It's not just about that, ok. I want us to have a family. I know we agreed to wait a year, but can't we revise our plans?"_

 _"_ _I don't want to revise our plans. I like things are they are now! Six months is not a long time!"_

 _"_ _And why do you get to make the decision of when we start a family? Why don't I get a say?"_

 _"_ _You do have a say! Remember I wanted to wait three years? And since I'm the one who has to be pregnant, I think I my opinion carries a little bit more weight than yours!" I knew I shouldn't have said that the minute the words flew out of my mouth._

 _"_ _Is that how it is? Well I'm glad I know where I stand in this marriage!"_

 _"_ _Well when alpha males like you are able to grow a uterus and carry a child, you can dictate when you get pregnant!" I yell back. He walks out of the bedroom and slams the door. I let out a string of curse words and kicked the dresser about three times. I only stopped when my foot started to hurt._

 _I waited for him to cool down and come back to the room so we could talk, but he never did. At around ten o'clock at night, I started to get angry and locked the bedroom door our of spite. I smiled to myself as I got into bed that night. About an hour later, I hear a loud banging on the door._

 _"_ _Anastasia Rose Grey! I swear to fucking Christ, if you don't open this fucking door right now, I'm going to take it off its hinges! Open the damn door!" He yelled while banging on it with his fists. There is no way he can take this door off the hinges. The damn door probably weighs close to five hundred pounds._

 _"_ _You ran out of here like a damn toddler, so go sleep in one of the other sixteen bedrooms we have in this house!" I yell through the door._

 _"_ _Open this door now or I'm going to spank your little ass hard you won't be able to sit down for a week! Open the fucking door." He doesn't yell this time. He growls menacingly. I walk towards the door and put my hand on the door knob. He bangs on the door so hard, my heart skips a beat and I instinctively jump back._

 _"_ _Stop banging on the damn door! And like hell you're going to spank you. You're the one who needs a spanking for acting like a spoiled child," I yell. I hear him walk away and I get back into the bed. I smirk at knowing that I've won this argument. Several minutes go by and he doesn't come back. I relax and close my eyes, ready for sleep, thinking that I'm going to have until morning to deal with my crazy husband._

 _Just as I'm about to drift into sleep, the door opens. He opens pushes the door with so much force that it slams against the wall, causing the room to shake. The noise scared me so much that I jump out of the bed. I see him standing there with a key in his hand and a victorious smirk on his face. I walks towards me, and I automatically start to step back._

 _"_ _Don't you ever lock me out of our bedroom again." He talks in a low voice and enunciates each word. I square my shoulders and stand to my full height. If he wants a fight, he'll get one._

 _"_ _I'll do whatever the hell I damn well please in my own house! If you don't want to be locked out, maybe you shouldn't storm out like an infant," I say._

 _He snorts at me._

 _"_ _That's rich coming from you. The queen of walking away from an argument because you have to clear your head. Hypocrite." I only did that one time!_

 _"_ _Jerk." I yell. He starts to walk towards me and I back away, reaching the bed. Shit. Now he's standing right there in front of me and I have nowhere to run._

 _"_ _I was going to spank you," he begins._

 _"_ _Like hell you were," I spit back._

 _"_ _But now I wouldn't touch you if you paid me," he says as he walks away from me and goes into the bathroom._

 _"_ _What would be the damn point. It's not like you want to have my child," he says. "My own wife doesn't want to have my child," he yells to no one in particular. I run after him._

 _"_ _Christian, you know that's not true! I'm just asking for a little bit more time," I say. "Please understand." He gets to the bathroom door, turns around and looks at me. Just as I'm about to reach for his hand, he goes into the bathroom and slams the door in my face._

 _Rude jerk! I'm done trying to talk sense into him, so I angrily climb in the bed. About ten minutes later, he comes out and gets in the bed, but stays as far away from me as possible in the California King sized bed. I lay there and wait for him to speak, but he doesn't. I turn towards him, but he has his back to me. I crawl over to him and put my hand on his shoulder and I get no response. After a while, he shrugs my hand off his shoulder. I take the hint and go back to my side of the bed, heartbroken. We've never spent a night like this. We're always wrapped up in each other's arms._

 _Things are tense the next morning. Even Gail senses it as she serves breakfast. I pick at my food, having no appetite. I miss my husband._

 _"_ _Eat," is all he says. As soon as he says it, he leaves, claiming to have an early meeting. He doesn't even kiss me goodbye._

 _At lunchtime that day, I get a text from my husband saying that he has to go to an emergency meeting in LA and he'd be gone overnight. He was gone for two nights._

 _When he arrives home that Friday night, I'm waiting for him in the living room._

 _"_ _Welcome home," I say to him when he walks through the door. I look at him and he looks tired and pale._

 _"_ _Thank you." I walk over to him and take his bag out of his hand and place it on the floor._

 _"_ _I missed you," I offer him a smile, hoping to break the tension and end the argument._

 _"_ _You did?" I nod._

 _He lets out a breath. "I missed you too, baby." And that's all I need. He pulls me in his arms and hold me close._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, Ana. I do want to have a child with you, and I'm ready now, but if you're not, then we can wait. It's only six more months."_

 _"_ _Thank you, Christian. It hurt when you said that I didn't want to have your child. That can't be further from the truth. I want nothing more than to carry your children. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have locked you out of the room. I'll never do that again," I say against his chest._

 _"_ _I saved your dinner," I say. I take his hand, lead him to the kitchen and get him his dinner, which he ate with me sitting on his lap. After dinner, I was his dessert._

 _A week before our one year anniversary, I go off the birth control pill. His gift to me was a trip to Croatia where we did our best to create a child._

 _Several months go by and I'm still not pregnant. Each month I feel like a failure; a failure as a wife and as a woman. My doctor assures me that there is nothing wrong with me. Christian gets checked out and he's fine as well. Every month when I get my period, I blame myself and become depressed._

 _Through it all, my husband is by my side supporting me and telling me that we'll just keep trying, and that he loves me. We even did a round of IVF, which didn't work. I stayed home for a week after that, crying. Grace came over and talked to me, telling me that there are several ways to make a family; like adoption. I cried on her shoulder and explained that I want nothing more than to carry my husband's child in my womb. Grace cried with me, and told me about her fertility issues, but she was still able to have a family._

 _That night, I cried on Christian's shoulder, telling him that maybe this was a punishment because I wanted to wait to have his child. He held me, told me that was nonsense. He told me he loved me and that everything would be alright._

 _A few days later, he brought up the idea of adoption, which I agreed to, but I told him I wanted to try one more round of IVF. He was reluctant because of the depression that I was in after it failed the first time but he agreed on the condition that if it didn't work, we would focus our energy on adoption before trying again._

 _After over a year of trying, the second round of IVF worked. As soon as he found out, he wouldn't let me lift a finger, and demanded that I take a leave of absence from work. For once, I didn't fight him and agreed immediately. I was not going to take this pregnancy for granted._

PRESENT DAY

"Hungry, Ava? Let's go see what Mrs. Taylor has for lunch?" He says while giving her a kiss on the forehead. Elliot and Kate are gone for the weekend for a wedding out of town and we're babysitting. Really Christian is doing all the work and I'm just enjoying him practice to be a daddy. He's going to be so amazing.

"Come here, baby," he says after bringing Ava to Gail. He sits me down and starts to massage my feet.

"Christian, stop spoiling me. I'm fine. Dr. Greene says my pregnancy is progressing normally and I don't have any problems. You can let me do some things."

"Nope. It's my job to take care of you and you won't lift a finger while you're pregnant. I don't even know about this party we're hosting next weekend here. Maybe we should postpone it."

"We can't postpone it, baby. It's my parents wedding reception," I say with an eyeroll. Ray and Carla went to the courthouse and got remarried about a month ago and told everyone after. "This is just a small get together. Besides, Kate and Grace planned the whole thing. I know you must have gone behind my back and asked them."

"Kate didn't invite Ethan, did she?" He asks.

"God, no. I warned her about that. She's so desperate for them to get back together but I told her I didn't want a scene at my parents' party." Ethan and Mia broke up last year after he told her he wasn't ready to settle down. When they broke up, Ethan started seeing an ex from high school. About two months after he started seeing her, she claimed to be pregnant by him. When Mia heard about this, she was devastated and heartbroken. Once she was out of tears, she decided she was going to get her life into some semblance of order. She took some interior design classes and she now works for Elliot as an interior designer. He builds, she designs.

Once Ethan's ex had the baby, the paternity test showed he was not the father. He's been trying to get back with Mia ever since but she won't give him the time of day. Kate is the only one holding out hope that they will get back together, but the rest of us are staying out of it.

"Anyway, Mia told me she was bringing a date," I say to Christian.

"Good. I'd hate to have to punch Ethan in the face."

3.5 YEARS LATER

"He's finally down for the night," I say to Christian as I walk into our bedroom. "Our parents are going to spoil our son."

"Going to? They already have."

Christian Trevelyan Grey II, the apple of our eye, turned 1 year old today. After a party complete with a bouncy house, petting zoo, horses, and various Disney characters running around our yard, he's completely exhausted. We had the entire family, including Ros, Gwen and their two. Ros and Gwen adopted another boy, Charlie. We also included Taylor's daughter, Claude and Claudia's kids and several of the neighbors. It was a perfect summer day and everyone had a great time. Uncle Elliot even built him his own clubhouse.

"Why did your father feel the need to get him his own fishing rod? He's 1, Ana?"

"Well your father got him a briefcase. That's worse!" I counter. Carrick is convinced that CJ is going to be a lawyer like him, so he's already started training him to follow his footsteps. It's funny to watch because Grace is convinced that Ava is going to be a doctor.

"Our family is so over the top. Come, baby. I drew us a bath," he says as he takes my hand and leads me to the giant bathroom.

He helps me in the tub, and gets in behind me, putting my back to his chest. He kisses my shoulder and puts his hands on my growing belly.

"She's been active today, but I think she's sleeping now," I say to him as I lay my head back on his chest.

Three months after CJ was born, I found out I was pregnant again. Since I had such a hard time getting pregnant with CJ, I never bothered to go back on birth control. We knew we wanted more children but figured it would not be possible for me to get pregnant without the use of IVF. It came as a complete shock one morning when the smell of coffee caused me to run to the bathroom to dry heave. Christian had already left for work, so no one witnessed my reaction. For the rest of the day, I noticed that certain smells caused me to become nauseous. I figured I was just coming down with something and didn't think anything more of it.

I had the same issues the next day, and actually had to throw up when Gail started cooking bacon. Christian was home that day and he insisted I go get checked out. He called Grace over to stay with CJ and he took me to see my doctor, who suggested a pregnancy test. I told her that it couldn't be, but I was proven wrong when the test came back positive. Christian and I stared at each other for a full minute before I jumped into his arms and started to cry. He took me home, and we told Grace as soon as we walked through the door.

"I can't wait to meet our daughter," he says against my temple.

"I've been thinking, Christian. After our daughter is born, I want to continue to grow our family. I want to carry more of your kids, but I want to adopt a child too. We have so much love to give, and you're such an awesome father," I say to him.

"I'd love nothing more. Being adopted by the Greys changed my life. I want to do that for a child," he says. "Now I would love nothing more than to wash up, take you to bed and have my way with you. Carla and Ray said they would take the baby monitor and check on our son, but he'll probably sleep for three days after the day he had. But that means I get you all to myself all night long," he says with his voice full of promise.

"Let's hurry. You know how amorous I get during pregnancy."

"Oh, I know. I wish I could keep you pregnant forever."

"I'm going to love you forever, do you know that, Mr. Grey? You're the love of my life, my everything. My life was meaningless until the moment I saw you at that party all those years ago. Everything changed that night. It's like I became alive in that moment. I love you so, so much."

"Not as much as I love you, Mrs. Grey. Everything was meaningless. Nothing mattered until that moment. I had nothing until you," he says to me right before his lips capture mine.

 **My story is complete, guys! I'm going to miss these two immature clowns, but I will check in on them from time to time. Writing ain't easy, which makes me admire the writers who turn out story after story. Thank you all so much for all of your reviews, follows and favorites.**

 **This story never would have happened if LanieLoveU and Mrs. Caron didn't harass me about posting that first chapter. Thank you, ladies, for all of your encouragement. This story would have never happened without you two.**

 **I want to say thank you to everyone who took time to write a review. I want to thank Reds77 (girl, your reviews are everything!), Joan Goldman, Fundays, Pepe71, UndercoverSquint, Ihootie, JPLuvsFiftyShades, SammyFL, Shariza Ro, Stearns321, Dazzleglo, Velosewer, PTminor, CTHEWOODS and everyone else who took the time to write a review. Everyone who took the time to review gave me the motivation to keep writing. Thank you ALL so, so much.**

 **Let me know what you think of the epilogue.**

 **Who knows? I might even come back with another story.**

 **Until laters, baby!**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

ALL CRED TO ELJ.

CHRISTIAN

A LITTLE OVER 2 YEARS LATER

"Daddy, Phoebe is eating my French fries!" My three year old yells as he stomps his little feet. All the while, his two year old little sister just smiles and continues to reach over into CJ's fries.

"Don't worry, buddy. You can have some of this fruit salad," I say to him, but he makes a face, runs back to his sister and snatches a French fry from her hand, causing her to wail loudly.

I look at my office door, willing my wife to walk through it.

Since we had the children, Ana still comes in to work at the day care two days per week and brings the kids with her. On days when I'm not too busy, I bring them to my office to have lunch with me before they go down for their afternoon nap. Once they go down for their nap, my wife and I enjoy a quiet lunch between just the two of us.

"Come here, sweetheart," I say as I pick up my daughter and put her on my hip. CJ, not one to be ignored, grabs on to one of my legs, potentially ruining my Tom Ford pants as he holds on with his greasy little hands. But I don't care.

I sit behind my desk and sit them both on my lap. Phoebe, a total daddy's girl, lays her head on my chests, rubbing her greasy lips on my shirt. Thank goodness I don't have any meetings this afternoon.

In fact, I've cut back on work significantly. GEH is still thriving, but I've hired two other top level executives to handle the workload I used to take on alone. Since Ana got pregnant with CJ, I've made it my duty to stay home more and spend time with her. Of course, cutting back at work came about as a result of fear. It took us so long to get pregnant that I was so afraid she would miscarry that I couldn't let her out of my sight.

As soon as Ana got pregnant, I suggested she take a leave of absence, and for once in her stubborn life, she agreed without a fight. She didn't say it, but I think she was as scared as I was about something going wrong with the pregnancy, but luckily everything was fine. She had an easy pregnancy and delivered a perfect baby boy.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried like a baby when the doctor put Christian Trevelyan Grey, Jr. in my arms. He has been the apple of our eye from that moment. He is loved and adored by every member of our family and our staff, especially Gail. He's Ray's fishing buddy, Carrick's lawyer in training, mom's little man, and Carla's obsession.

Carla was so excited about his birth that she visited almost every weekend for the first year of his life. I think she tries to make up for not being such a great mother to Ana by going overboard with the grandchildren because she practically moved in with us when Phoebe was born.

Our life together has been great. It hasn't been without its difficulties. Our difficulty in getting pregnant was the toughest time in our marriage but raising two kids who are barely a year apart is full of reward and drama.

We chose not to have a nanny, so between the two of us, Gail, Taylor and extended family, we make it happen. We want to be fully there for our children. And I want to spend every waking minute around my wife. My fucking wife, who is the most beautiful woman on earth, not to mention the most loving and doting mother.

It's been great having Elliot and Kate living nearby. They now have two children, and also want to adopt a third. We take turns watching each other's kids for the weekend so we can have one on one time with our wives.

I think back to the day we met, just a few floors down, and how I fell in love with her that very night. I shake my head at her reluctance to be with me, and how I had to chase her little ass until she couldn't bear to be apart from me.

I wince at the pre-nup debacle that my father caused, and to this day I still want to strangle him over it. I think about how I wanted kids right away, and Ana's reluctance at first, only to be unable to get pregnant.

I think of the fights we had when were both sleep-deprived from being up with two sick babies for three nights straight, but I also think about the good times.

Birthday parties, holidays, Sunday barbeques with the extended family, extravagant vacations, and my favorite, time alone with my wife.

"Daddy! Ice cream!" Phoebe yells and CJ claps.

"I don't think so, you two. Almost nap time. Mommy will be here soon."

"Mommy!" Phoebe yells.

And like she heard our daughter calling her, my angel walks through the door. I put both kids down and walk to her, pulling her to me and giving he a kiss on the lips.

"Gwoss," CJ says and Ana giggles.

"Hey, you two, Heather is here to take you guys down for your nap." Heather now has Ana's job, and she extends her hands to the kids. "Have a good nap. We love you," Ana says as the kids walk out of my office with Hannah.

"Now, Mrs. Grey," I say as I lead her to the couch. I help her sit and run to the nearby staff kitchen to grab our lunch.

I come back a few minutes later and set everything on the table and help her get up from her seat.

"Careful, baby. How are you feeling today?" I ask as I help her sit at the table.

"Like I'm six months pregnant with twins," she says as she rubs her belly. I lean down and give her belly a quick kiss.

"You're glowing, Ana. You're so beautiful when you're pregnant." Right on cue, she blushes.

"We're going to have our hands full, Christian," she says biting her lower lip.

I know what she means. After Phoebe was born, we agreed for Ana not to go on birth control. We figured we wanted more kids, and if she got pregnant again like she did after CJ was born, we'd be ecstatic, but after a year with no results, we decided to pursue adoption.

Our trainers, Claude and Claudia Bastille, are originally from Haiti and when they told us about their plan to adopt from there, the idea stuck with us. After speaking with them, doing our own research and hiring an attorney who specializes in foreign adoption, we found a beautiful one month old baby girl named Natalie.

After months of paperwork and red tape from the adoption agency and immigration, we were told she was ours and were given a date to fly to Haiti and bring her home. A few days after that, Ana discovered she was three months pregnant. We were floored but so excited.

Our excitement only grew when Dr. Greene heard two heartbeats during the ultrasound and confirmed we were having twins.

We announced our pregnancy at a family brunch that Elliot and Kate hosted. The only unfortunate thing about going to events hosted by Elliot is that Ethan always shows up. It used to be only mildly uncomfortable when he was trying to woo Mia back, only to be rejected, but it became downright awkward when Mia started dating a doctor she met at one of mom's fundraising events. Then it turned to hostile once Mia and Dr. Ryan Jensen became engaged.

We were met with nothing but excitement, hugs and congratulations when we made the announcement. Ray and Carla were there, and Carla burst into tears while she hugged Ana for dear life.

" _So, are you going to return your adopted baby now that you're having your own," Ethan said loudly. The room silenced immediately, and all heads turned to Ethan._

" _Why would we do that, Ethan. Natalie is as much our child as the ones I birthed. And she's not a shirt Ethan. We can't just return her," Ana said, clearly upset by Ethan's words. Knowing that my wife carrying twins carried more risk, I rubbed between her shoulder blades to calm her down._

" _Let's have some champagne to celebrate. None for you, Ana. I'll get you some sparkling grape juice," Kate said. I gave her a smile of gratitude at her attempts to change the subject._

" _I'm just saying," Ethan continued, "It's always better to have your own. You don't know what issues this adopted baby might have. And she's from a third world country, too. I never took you guys as the type to adopt from a third world country. How very Madonna and Angelina Jolie of you," he says dismissively. He even waved his hand around._

" _What the hell are you implying, Ethan. We're all adopted. Did you forget that?" Mia asks not even trying to mask her fury._

" _Just shut up, Ethan," Kate said._

" _Yeah, I remember you're adopted, Mia. That's why I said what I said. Clearly you have issues." At that, I leave my wife's side and step towards Ethan with intentions of breaking every bone on his face, but Ryan walked past me and got to Ethan first. Since Mia is his fiancé, I decide to let him throw the first punch because if someone ever insults my wife, it would be the one kicking that person's ass._

" _You shut your fucking mouth about my fiancé, asshole."_

" _Oh, Dr. Jensen, no need to be so sensitive. Just telling the truth. You'll soon learn, though. Make one mistake and you'll be on the outside looking in."_

" _Maybe you're just an asshole and everyone knows it."_

" _I'm the asshole? No, you're going to marry into a family of assholes."_

" _Bet you'd do anything to change places with me, wouldn't you? You're the one who fucked things up between you and Mia, fucker, so you better shut the fuck up before I shut you up," he says as he steps closer to Ethan._

" _Leave it alone, Ry," Mia says, grabbing Ryan by the hand and trying to pull him away. "He's not worth it."_

" _Yeah, walk away, Ry. You make sure you do exactly as the great Mia Grey says or you're out."_

" _You sound bitter, Ethan. What's the matter? You regret having commitment issues? Too bad for you, though, because Mia's going to me_ my _wife." Ryan lets go of Mia's hand and steps closer to Ethan, daring him to say or do something._

" _Get the fuck out my face. Fuck you and your fiance," Ethan said as he tried to shove Ryan, but Ryan's taller and stronger and barely moves after being shoved. He's had enough of Ethan and elbows him in the chin. Ethan stumbles back but catches himself quickly. Before he can reach Robert, Elliot jumps in the middle and grabs Ethan by the collar._

" _Enough, Ethan. You can get the hell out of my house now," Elliot says as he shoves him towards the front door._

" _I'm sorry about my brother, everyone," Kate said, clearly embarrassed._

" _You have nothing to apologize for, Kate. Go get that champagne and the sparkling grape juice you promised," Ana said, and we spent the rest of the afternoon celebrating with our family._

We were excited and nervous about the pregnancy. Ana's blood pressure is a bit high and other than coming to Little Tots twice per week, she's at home with her feet up. We've enrolled CJ at a nearby preschool, and Gail helps Ana take care of Phoebe.

"Baby, have you given any more thought to hiring some help. We're going to have five kids in three months. We're going to need full time help," I say to her as we start to eat.

"You're right. Your mom thinks we might even need two nannies. I called the agency Ros told us about and have some interviews set up next week while you're gone. I'll weed out the weak candidates and we can join me when we do second interviews. Since I'm having a C-section this time, I'm worried about my recovery."

"You're going to need your rest, baby. You can't just jump into taking care of five kids after having major surgery."

"I know," she says. We eat in silence for a while until she pushes her plate away from her. With her belly getting so big, she can only eat small meals at a time, which means I'm constantly trying to feed her.

I get up, take her hand and walk her to the couch where we both sit. I carefully put her legs across my lap, take off her shoes and start to rub her feet.

"I'm worried Phoebe won't adjust well to three new babies," Ana says. I worry about that too, especially when it comes to me. My daughter is a total daddy's girl. She wants my attention all the time and she barely tolerates sharing me with her brother. I can't imagine how she will take three new additions.

"She'll be fine," I say trying to appease my wife. "Kids adapt to change. We just have to make her feel included. Maybe give her some responsibility."

She pulls her feet out of my reach and comes over and sits on my lap. I wrap my arm around her very large waist and kiss her shoulder.

"Did you ever think that our lives would end up like this?" She asks wistfully. I smile at her because she gets like this late in pregnancy. Instead of strange cravings, my wife gets nostalgic likes to reminisce about old times.

"I had hoped," I said to her. She looks at me skeptically. I almost want to roll my eyes because we've had this conversation so many times. "It's true. From the moment I saw you, I knew I wanted you. After spending time with you, I knew I wanted you forever. And I wanted a family with you, just like the one we have now. I've never wanted that before I laid eyes on you. You were it from the very first moment."

"You always say the most romantic things. And you've always fought for us, Christian. I did everything I could to run from you. To run from my feelings but you never gave up. I hope I'm worth it," she says with a smile.

I cup her face in my hands and kiss her slowly, tenderly. When we finally end the kiss, I lock eyes with her.

"I wouldn't change a thing. Not a single thing."

"Neither would I," she says with a blush, and I let out a blissful sigh. My Ana, still the blushing beauty I met in this very building all those years ago. She hasn't changed a bit since we met.

"We had a lot of firsts in this building, Mrs. Grey. Our first meeting. Our first kiss in the garage. The first time I fucked you against a wall was right over there," I point to the wall next to the door of my office.

"You're so crass, Mr. Grey, but I'm going to miss you next week when you're gone. I wish I could go with you."

"Me too. That _was_ the original plan, but these babies are already show us who's boss. Don't worry," I tell her as I rub her belly. I'll have an entourage with me. My attorney, dad, Elliot and Kate, who are also interested in adopting from Haiti, and Claude.

"I'll be worried until you come back to Seattle with our baby in your arms. She's already ten months old, Christian. What if she cries whenever we go hear her? Or what if-,"

"Shhh. It will be fine. And we'll only be gone four days."

She leans into me and puts her head in the crook of my neck.

"I don't like it when you're away from me," she pouts.

"I hate it," I say as I continue to rub her belly. I'm rewarded when I feel a kick.

* * *

 **1 WEEK LATER**

The trip to Haiti went as smoothly as could be expected. We finalized the adoption while I was there. Elliot and Kate toured God's Little Angel's orphanage and fell in love with two year old twin boys.

As the plane lands in Seattle, I'm anxious to see my wife and kids. I hold Natalie in my arms as I descend the stairs of the plane, only to be met with our entire family on the tarmac.

CJ and Phoebe run to me and attach to each of my legs. Ana is behind them as she waddles towards me. I place a sleeping Natalie in her arms and lean down and kiss my wife who cries as I engulf her in my arms.

"God, I've missed you, husband. I love you so much. Don't you ever go anywhere without me again," she cries. I kiss her tenderly, but I avoid telling her that I occasionally have to travel for work. My hormonal wife doesn't need to hear that at the moment.

"Daddy! Our sissy!" Phoebe says, pointing to Natalie. I scoop her up in my arms, so she can see her sister.

"That's right, sweetheart. That's your little sister. Let's get home so you can play with her," I say.

We get in the cars and everyone comes back to my house, to the party that Ana, my mom and Gail planned.

Hours later, everyone is seating around in the kitchen/family room as the kids play in the nearby playroom. Natalie is back in my arms. Ana's feelings are a little hurt because Natalie only wants me, my dad or Elliot. I told her it's because she's been around us for the past four days, and once we kick everyone out of the house, Natalie will be more comfortable with her, but her eyes still filled with tears when Natalie waddled away from her and came to me.

"Mom, are you crying again?" Elliot asks with an eye roll.

"I'm just so happy. Our family is growing so much. I want more grandkids. God, I just knew it the moment I saw Ana that she'd be perfect for you, Christian. I'm so happy for all of my kids. And Ryan, I can't wait until you and Mia get married next year," she says wiping her tears away.

"She just wants you to pop one out right away, Mia," Elliot says and we all laugh.

"Oh, I know. Mom was really subtle the other day when she mentioned how much she can't wait to plan my baby shower."

As we continue to chat, Ava, CJ and Phoebe come running out of the playroom. Ava runs to Elliot and Phoebe runs to me, so I make room for her on my lap. CJ runs to Ana, but he knows he can't sit on her lap due to her expanding belly. Instead, he sits next to her and she pulls him to her side, planting a soft kiss on the top of his head.

"My daddy," Phoebe says to Natalie.

"Yes, but I'm her daddy too, Phoebe. I love you, CJ, Natalie and the babies in mommy's tummy," I tell her.

Phoebe reaches over and kisses Natalie's cheek, who laughs and starts to clap in response to the attention she's getting from her big sister.

"I'm surrounded by daddy's girls. I hope these babies are boys," Ana says. We decided not to find out the genders and to be surprised at the birth.

"I'm hoping for one of each," I respond.

"Oh, me too," Grace says, wistful.

"Let's go play, sissy," Phoebe says as she tugs on Natalie's hand. Natalie lets Phoebe lead her to the playroom, and the rest of the kids follow.

I scoot over closer to Ana, and I drape my arm around her shoulders while I caress her belly with my other hand.

"I love you, baby," I whisper in her ear.

"I love you too, husband," she says back to me.

Our family continues to talk, while I hear the laughter of the children in the other room. Yes, our family is definitely growing, I think as I feel nothing but contentment.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this little update. As you can see, Ana and Christian are still crazy in love, and they will soon be a family of seven! Will Ana finally go on birth control after she has the twins? What will the gender(s) be? Will Elliot and Kate adopt the twins from the orphanage? Will Ethan ever stop being bitter and move on? I guess we might never know…. Until laters.**

 **P.S. Thank you for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing this story.**


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